


Rantō Academy

by Sammy_Scripts



Category: Brawl Stars (Video Game)
Genre: Action & Romance, Betrayal, Cover Art, F/F, F/M, Fights, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Love Triangles, Rival Relationship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26129698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sammy_Scripts/pseuds/Sammy_Scripts
Summary: Who loves a slice of life story? I do and since you're reading this summary something tells me you are interested as well. If you like cute characters, fun interactions, and a few saucy love triangles then this is the story for you. Follow your favorite brawlers as they head back to Rantō Academy.
Relationships: Emz/Poco, Jessie/Leon, Penny/Leon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. Back to School

" _YARGH MATEY! Rise and Shine, there be booty to plunder. YARGH MATEY! Rise and Shine, there be-_ "

A girl groaned from her bed slapping the alarm, "Yeah, I know. Booty to plunder…" She lazily rolled to the floor looking up to the ceiling. The boards above her were bending under the weight of moving bodies. The light commotion above alongside the rays of light leaking in between the wood was irritating. She was in the middle of a splendid dream.

She could still feel the warm arms of her friends surrounding her. She wished she could see them again. Her daydreams continued till the sound of knocking on her cabin door caught her attention. "Donnupp, axalo ug axawaxako?" She sat up at the gibberish coming from her door.

"Yeah, I'm up Tick. What's wrong?" The girl got up from her floor, stumbling to her closet's door.

"Alo ug loaxadupp?"

"Ready for what?" she called back taking off her pink bunny pajamas. Her bunny hat still on.

"Id ug belgot haxat tedaxaupp dis?!"

The girl scoffed in surprise, she looked towards her nearby calendar, "Of course I know what today is… today's…" she looked closely at the calendar noticing that today's date had a bright red circle around it. The words 'move-in' written with sloppy red ink. The girl's mood shifted drowsy to drastic.

Tick could hear behind the door the sounds of objects being haphazardly thrown around. "Donnupp?" The door swung open a hand reaching out and grabbing him by his red scarf. He was yanked within, the bouncing bomb startled by the sudden change in scenery. He found himself in the frantic arms of the pink princess, her face filled with terror.

"I'M GONNA MISS MOVE IN DAY!" she screamed in his face. If he could frown, he would but his face had a sweet smile built to last. He noticed she still had her pink bunny hat on that she wore to sleep. Alongside that, she seemed to have noticed the date's importance mid changing with her casual clothes hastily thrown on her. Her blue and white striped shirt full of wrinkles that matched the torn holes she put her arms through.

She dropped Tick onto the floor and began to rush around the room. She started throwing random articles of clothing into a nearby chest, "Tick, start grabbing anything you can."

Tick looked around her messy room and sighed, "Donnupp?"

"I don't care what it is you pack just pack it. I can't afford to miss the train."

"Donnupp?"

"I'll come back after I get settled in and grab the rest."

"DONNUPP!"

"What!?" she shouted back. Tick was pointing towards the door; he began to walk away motioning for her to follow. The pink girl followed along reluctantly, awkwardly putting her boots and gloves on. "Tick I don't have time to see whatever it is you found. If I miss this train I might not be allowed to attend."

"Wo gned."

"We?" Tick walked up a wooden staircase lifting a hatch above them. She shielded her eyes at the intense light walking upwards blindly.

"Surprise!"

Her eyes started to adjust to the light. She looked across the deck of the ship in wonder. The crew was gathered around drinking merrily and singing as they celebrated her rise. She saw beside them three large chests with pink and white skulls on them. A group of men approached her with a small mug singing and telling her to enjoy her drink. She graciously took a large swig before approaching the chests.

Upon closer inspection, she saw that the chest was filled with a plethora of items. From sheets for a bed to artillery for her mortar, they had packed everything she would need. "The crew and I figured that you would be so excited for the big day you'd forget to pack all yer stuff. So, I made 'em work overtime whilst you slept to get everything prepared."

She turned to the high-pitched voice, a large barrel rolling up beside her. The barrel bounced up revealing his arms, legs, and large metal head with a single yellow eye and a large purple Captain's hat. She jumped up into his robotic arms nuzzling into his wooden frame. "Thank you, Darryl, you're the best!" The robot seemed visibly embarrassed by her childish display of affection but opted to let her enjoy the moment since he knew this would be the last time for a long time.

Darryl eventually pried her off him. He took out a blue skull cap with a white skull on the brim. He switched the pink bunny head for the blue cap, ruffling her hair before allowing her to run around and mingle with the other crewmates. He watched as she shook hands and shared drinks with all of them. She was always able to brighten up any room she was in. Tick crept up beside him, his gibberish sounding much sadder. "Now you know she has to leave every year; thought you'd be used to it." Darryl hid himself wiping an imaginary tear as he watched her run around and interact with the crew.

Darryl looked to the horizons and saw their destination drawing near. He walked up to the ship's wheel grabbing another foaming mug along his way. "Ahem." The entire ship turned to their captain. "All right ya filthy vermin. Quit ya hollering for a second and listen close. We're gonna dock pretty soon so let me get this off me chest before we arrive." Darryl focused on the pink-haired girl, her shiny gold belt buckle, and earrings shining in the morning sun. "To a girl that makes every day on this crusty old ship worth living. A girl that can make dying of tetanus an enriching experience. We are gonna miss your sinister smile and that awful cackle when you break a man's nose with the coins from our reserves. We will be awaiting your return."

Darryl raised his mug high above his head towards the pink bunny. All the men on the ship following along. "To Penny, our Pirate Princess."

"To Penny!"

* * *

"Come on ya salty sea dogs, be a shame if ya did all that packing just to miss my ride." Penny was rushing through Retropolis, a city with a beautiful neon theme and old school décor. Penny ran past a large diner with a logo shaped like a bull, a large man in black leather greeting people at the door with gruff handshakes or waving at passersby.

Penny looked back at her crew. Three large men carrying a chest each with her explosive escort Tick leading the pack. She laughed excitedly as she ran full sprint towards the train station. As they grew closer the number of people grew denser. She could see nearby children and teenagers all making their way towards a large building, a green neon train sign pulsing above.

"Ree-hee-hee," she laughed excitedly as they drew closer. She blasted through the giant wooden doors the hundreds of people rushing around as the sounds of the train's whistle flooding the halls. She rushed forward towards a nearby toll booth, a tired teenager lazily handing out tickets. Penny jumped the gate rushing forward into the station.

"Hey, you gotta have a ticket to board." The ticket master called as she rushed into the distance. Penny was too focused on the train to worry about breaking a few rules. She saw a few kids jumping onto the train, their parents giving them kisses goodbye. She paused for a second at the sights, the sounds of the train whistling snapping her back to reality. She ran into an open door trying to find a seat to blend into.

She plopped herself down in the back of the last car, sighing with relief at the successful entrance. She started to observe the other passengers, kids, and their parents placing their luggage above them and under their seats. "My luggage!" she called out throwing open the back door. Her eyes swept the crowd, falling on her three crewmen frantically searching the crowd. "Hey! Over here!" she screamed over the raucous bystanders. Her three crewmen ran to her, dropping the three chests off inside the train. As they made their way off the caboose the train began its departure slowly pulling away from the station.

Penny watched with a tear in her eye as her three crewmen broke into hysterical sobs. The other parents nearby joining them in their sobs. The children aboard the train waved goodbye as they pulled out of the station. Penny sat back in her seat far away from the front of the train.

"Tickets please?"

She shot up at the voice. Ahead of her was a train attendant going seat to seat asking for everyone's tickets. She started to worry about him seeing her, 'Well even if he sees me it's not like he can kick me off now.'

Her victorious thought was halted as the train screeched to a stop. She looked up and saw the attendant pulling on a lever on the side of the car. He proceeded to march towards a passenger, a small boy with grey hair, and pick him up by his shirttail. A door flew open as he approached tossing the boy outside onto the dirt path they were traveling on. "No ticket, no ride." He pushed the lever back up as the door slowly shut. Penny looked out the window as the child started to throw a tantrum in the dirt.

"Oh no…"

She frantically looked for a way out of this predicament. She opened her chests hoping to find some space for her to hide in but found it to be crammed to the top. "Dangit, Darryl, why are you so reliable." She started to panic as he got even closer, the idea of being left on the side of the road terrifying her. "Guh, why didn't I buy a ticket!"

"Whoupp Donnupp."

She looked down to see Tick's smiling head. "Oh, hi Tick," she deadpanned as she resumed mentally punishing herself. Then her mind began to process the image she saw, "TICK?!"

"Whi."

"What are you doing here?"

"Hon ug laxan enke zo slaxain Pum idniz kot pit staxanco te saxaupp keedfyo."

"So, you thought you should detach your head and follow me onboard?"

"Yop."

Penny couldn't help but stop and chuckle at her brave little bombs' wild antics. Her joy was snuffed out at the sounds of the approaching attendant. "Well, you don't have to worry about saying goodbye. I forgot to get a ticket, now I'm gonna get kicked off." She plopped down onto the seat with her head in her hands. She was heartbroken at the simple mistake.

Tick's head jumped up beside her, nudging her arm. "Ug voaxan zis tingot?" He opened his mouth a ticket popping out like it was a personal dispenser. Penny's eyes lit open at her paper salvation.

"How did you get this?!" pulling his face deep into her chest for an ecstatic hug. Tick explained in his usual gibberish how he saw her jump the gate and decided that, though a pirate loves to pillage and plunder, this was a special occasion. "Oh, I love you, ya precious little powderkeg." She mushed her face against Tick's severed head, if he could, a faint blush would be across his face.

"Ahem…" A voice interrupted their moment. Looking up, they saw the attendant with his hand out, "Tickets please?" Penny quickly pulled the ticket from Tick's mouth, gladly presenting it to the patient man. He happily checked the paper before handing it back to her, "And does your little friend have a ticket?"

Penny quickly turned to Tick, worried about her tiny friend's safety if he were thrown off the train. "Ummm… he's just a toy. See." She presented Tick's head. It didn't blink or speak, the only sound that came out was the soft ticks of his key. The attendant looked skeptical about the way she was interacting before seeing him. "Uhh, he even makes sounds watch." She turned his key slightly further, Tick said something at random to support her claim.

Seeming satisfied the attendant nodded his head before bidding Penny farewell, leaving out the door leading to the other cars. Penny looked to Tick with a disgruntled face, "That was a mean thing to say." She and Tick laughed together merrily.

"Well, that was, like, literally the scariest thing I have ever seen. And I'm undead." Penny and Tick looked up at the voice. Before them was a teenage zombie girl, her body and face loosely wrapped in bandages. Her hair a dark purple and flipped to her right. She had on a pink crop top with dark purple short shorts showing off her tiny midriff and strangely wide hips. Her skin was surprisingly smooth, with no blemishes to be seen or rotting flesh like a zombie would usually have.

Penny looked up with joy while Tick looked on in confusion. "EMZ!"

"TP!" she called back as they embraced in a hug, Tick smushed between the two.

Tick gurgled between them. "Oh, that's her nickname for me. It stands for, Pirate Princess Penny."

"And you must be Tick. I thought you would be, like, bigger?"

"Well, this is just his head. The rest of his body is still at home."

"He can detach his head?" Emz poked his white robotic teeth in amazement, "That's, like, so metal." Tick beamed with pride at the compliment. Emz took a seat on the extra-long chairs in the back of the car. "Well come on girl we don't have a lot of time; this is the last stop before we get there. Let's talk," Emz patted the seat beside her.

Penny and Emz caught up the lost time over the summer, "Ugh and don't even get me started with Mortis."

"Oh, come on he can't be that bad."

Emz scoffed at the statement, "I've heard of helicopter parenting, but he is ridiculous. Yesterday, I was texting Wendy about last year's talent show and I literally only said Tom's name. Instantly I get a message from him asking why some creepy guy won't stop asking who I am to him."

Penny cackled lightly, "Okay, that's pretty bad."

"Right! And to make matters worse he sent Frank to go intimidate Tom while I was hanging with some friends. I swear it's like I'm not allowed to have a social life." Emz waited for a response but saw Penny just rubbing Tick's head vacantly. "Hey girl, you good?"

Penny snapped out of her melancholy turning to Emz with a put-on smile. "Yeah sorry, just got lost in my thoughts. Umm… what else has been happening."

Emz turned to fully face Penny, "Hey we don't have to talk about me, we can, like, talk about you if ya need it."

Penny felt warm from the show of affection but pushed the idea aside, "No really I'm fine. Just pretend that didn't happen. Let's talk about the others. Have you talked to them recently?"

"Oh, now that you mention it. Like yesterday I called up Jessie and she said she just finished grabbing food with-"

"PENNY!"

Penny threw Tick into the air as she got attacked by a vicious glomp, Emz narrowly catching him in her lap. As she started to observe her attacker, she smiled sweetly at the ball of maroon fur in her lap. "Speak of the red devil, how are you, Nita?"

Nita threw up a big smile at her pink friend, "Super awesome now that you are here." She buried her face into Penny's chest getting her scent deep into her nostrils.

"You should have seen her. She wouldn't stop checking every car front to back looking for you."

Emz and Penny looked up as a red-head girl approached them. She had on a junker's attire, a dirty yellow jumper with a grungy brownish-yellow trim along her trousers and hat brim. Her goggles atop her cap reflecting the light pouring through the windows.

Penny huffed lightly, standing up with Nita still glued to her lap. She stared the slightly shorter girl in the eyes, "Jess."

"Pen."

They stared into each other's eyes intensely. The air grew oddly tense. Passengers in the vicinity stared in fear, the car had a scary heat about it. Like there was a storm brewing in the metal confines, they could sense it.

There was a brawl coming.

Penny and Jessie paid the bystanders no mind. All they saw was their opponent in front of them, all other objects blurred out of vision.

"*achoo* *sniff* Excuse me…"

Penny and Jessie broke into laughter at the sound of Nita wiping her nose on Penny's shirt. Jessie doubled over, crying tears of joy at the interaction. Penny would have followed suit had she not been carrying Nita like a koala cub. Penny offered a hand to her prone partner, Jessie taking it fondly.

"Well that was hilarious," Emz chimed in. Tick was gurgling nonsensically in her arms.

"Oh, right sorry, Tick I haven't introduced you yet." Penny placed Jessie upfront. "This is Jessie, the engineer girl I told you about."

Jessie leaned forward in surprise, "He's just a head, I thought he was a bomb lobbing robot, not a literal bomb."

"That's a short story that I don't want to repeat right now." She placed her arms around Nita, pulling her off and turning her to Tick. "And this little ball of fun is Nita."

"THE OVERBEARING!" she loudly added. She jumped out of Penny's arms snatching Tick out of Emz's hands. "Woah, he's like a real talking severed head." Nita began to throw him up in the air, cheering merrily as she played with him like a ball. Tick, however, gurgled in frustration and fear as she threw him higher and higher.

Penny, Jessie, and Emz watched the little show they were putting on. "Okay Nita, I think that's enough. Put him down."

"Kaayy." Nita followed directions and placed Tick on the floor.

"Claxazupp rittro venchol joaxalrupp vaxado vo fulch!"

"Oh, she didn't mean anything by it. She's just playing, right Nita?"

Nita sat down beside Tick and patted his head. Her sign of affection was short-lived as she began to roll him around the floor back and forth, eliciting more pained grumbles from Tick. Penny and Jessie took a seat beside Emz. They all just watched in warm silence as Nita played with Tick.

Penny stole glances at both of them, she missed this. Being with her friends, laughing, playing. She wouldn't trade her life on the sea for anything but living life on the land with them was a close second. She pulled them both in for a group hug. Nita, sensing missing out on the group hug, jumped in with Tick still in her arms. The feeling of warmth from her three land lovers and her one salty seadog was the best in the world.

"All right, all right. Let's cut the mushy crap and get to the juice. Have either of you made any moves yet?"

"Moves?" Jessie looked in confusion.

"Yeah ya know, have you like, talked to the boys?"

Jessie rolled her eyes at the question, "A mind like mine doesn't have time to chase after boys. Besides, you're the only one that could even be talking to any boys. How are things coming anyway?"

Emz flinched at the question, "I've been making my moves."

"Making moves? Last time I checked; you don't have a crush on Tom. You defiantly don't like Brock. And most importantly, you don't swing for the same team." Jessie leaned over Penny, "So when are you going to make a move on him?"

Emz leaned away from the approaching brainiac, "Uhhh… Penny what about you. Made any moves on your man?"

Penny looked to the tiny girl in her lap, "Hey Nita, where's your brother?"

She didn't look up from fiddling with Tick's key, "We were two cars up from here. He's probably still there with Poco."

"Interesting," she turned to Emz. "I don't know about you, but this pirate doesn't pass up free booty." Penny tapped Nita on the shoulder causing her to jump up from her lap. Penny walked away to the front of the car. She turned one final time, staring at Emz and saluting before making her exit.

As Penny strolled through the first car, she noticed how much louder it was. Children were running from seat to seat, conversating, and playing as they awaited their arrival. Penny could see some older teens on their phones gossiping to one another or whispering secrets into their friends' ears.

She saw a girl with purple hair choking out a black boy with a reverse headlock. "Hey Shelly, sup Brock," she nonchalantly called while she walked by.

"Hey Penny," they both responded in unison before Shelly resumed the aggressive attack. Penny walked through the next car door. As she walked through, she could see a taller girl standing at the back.

"Bibi?"

"Penny~" she put her phone away. The girl had on a purple leather jacket with a pink shirt underneath. Her hair flipped up in the front styled like a thug's pompadour. "Been a while little buddy," she picked Penny up in a crushingly tight hug. Penny struggled against her powerful grip until Bibi eventually let her go.

"Little buddy? You're only a few inches taller than me."

"Yeah but I'm older so," she patted Penny's head, "Little buddy." Bibi playfully smirked as she leaned against the wall. "So, what are you doing out of the rear car?"

"Looking for you, maybe trying to find something to eat."

"Psh, yeah right." Bibi turned to her, a doubting smirk on her face. "There are only two reasons you would leave your hidey-hole in the caboose. Either you're looking for your friends and I just saw Jessie chase Nita to the caboose. Since you can't be looking for them you must be looking for him."

Penny threw her hands in the air, "You got me. Have you seen him?"

Bibi blew a pink bubble, letting it pop on her lips. "Haven't seen him, but Poco is a few seats up on the left. He can't be far away."

Penny thanked her for the tip and went to find her musical mate. The sounds of a guitar tune getting louder as she approached. The people closer to its source were seen with bright smiles as they rocked lightly to the beat. To her left was a skeletal boy with a large black sombrero, music notes trimming the brim. He was smiling brightly as he causally continued his song, unaware of the effect it was having on the people around him.

"Oh Poco~" Poco looked up in surprise at the voice.

"Penny!" he placed the guitar down against the seat, jumping up to embrace Penny in a friendly hug. "Oh, how have you been. It has been only a few months, but it feels like years since you graced Brawltopia with your presence."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," she chuckled as they parted. Penny looked around at the people beside them, some that had fallen asleep had begun to wake up. Groaning at the music's disappearance. "Besides I've been doing the same thing as always. Lootin' and shootin'."

"I would expect nothing less from a gang as notorious as Darryl's Seadogs."

"What about you, I see you've gotten better," she looked around at the resting people that he had lulled to sleep.

"Yes well, there is always room for improvement."

"Improvement? If you get any better you could kill a man with your songs," Poco just smiled creepily at her comment. Penny started to let her eyes wander to the seat he was sitting in and nearby rows of chairs.

Poco laughed lightly, "Something tells me you didn't come here to find me."

"I don't wanna offend ya, but where is he?"

Poco looked back to his seat, "I haven't seen him at all today. Don't think he got on the train."

"Really? Cause Nita says she saw him with you," she retorted.

"Nita is a sweet child, but I wouldn't put it past her to misperceive me with some other skeleton."

"Really? Some other sombrero-wearing, guitar-playing, yellow skeleton?"

"It could happen," he shrugged.

Penny decided to allow Poco this small victory leaning closer and looking at the empty seat, "If you do see him tell him, 'He can't run all year'." She whispered the last line with a sultry tone. As she walked away Poco watched from his seat, she stopped to talk to Bibi in the back for a second, then disappeared into the car behind them.

"Is she gone?" a soft voice whispered beside Poco.

"Yeah, she just left." Poco watched as the air beside him began to shimmer, a small cloud of smoke appearing beside him. From the smoke appeared a brown-skinned boy. His green hoodie pulled over his head with only his mouth showing. Poco smiled at his stealthy friend, "Leon, you should just talk to her."

"No way, too embarrassing."

"Well tell her you don't like her back and she will leave you alone."

"It's not that I don't like her…" Leon started to fiddle with his thumbs. His fiddling was ruined when a metal bat tapped him on his head. He turned around to see Bibi looking down on him from behind.

"So, you like her?"

"…It's complicated." Poco and Bibi groaned at the dodgy response.

"Leon, Penny has been chasing you since the 6th grade. I've known her since she was in 4th and she had been working up the courage just to ask you for two years. Either you give her a no, or you two need to start dating. I'm tired of watching this dumb back and forth."

Poco snickered in his seat at Bibi's frustration, "She's right Leon. There no sense in avoiding a response."

"I just… don't feel comfortable with a relationship… right now."

"Hey, short round." Leon looked up at Bibi, "Nobody ever is."

* * *

"Weurd ug twe firgo laxats chep zlewick vo axafuk."

"What's he saying?" Nita threw Tick into Emz's arms.

"I dunno," Emz turned Tick around in her hands. Inspecting him for any details she might have missed.

"Maybe he wants us to throw him higher?" Nita walked further back down the aisle. Emz reached high above her head, heaving Tick toward her.

Nita leaped into the air catching Tick like a football, cackling sinisterly as she rolled him around in her hands. "I wonder what the key is for?" She watched as the key started to tick faster, "Ooo if we throw him hard enough will the key go super-fast?"

"Dunno, wanna try?"

"No, both of you don't know what that key does," Jessie chimed in. She walked up to Nita reaching out for her to hand him his head, "For all you know, it could cause some deadly explosion."

Nita pulled away running to the front of the car with Tick's head. "Emz! Catch!" She reached far back to launch his dome Tick blaring out his garble louder than before. Just before she could launch him a hand reached out snatching him out of her grip.

Nita looked up to see Penny slowly shaking her head at her, "I leave for 5 minutes and you three start playing catch with his skull?"

Nita and Emz threw up awkward smiles while Jessie tried to plead her position as the voice of reason. Penny patted Tick's head to calm him down, whispering something inaudible to the others. "So, how'd your little trip go?" Jessie spoke up.

"Well he's still trying to hide, won't work though, I know where he sleeps."

"You know what dorm he's staying in?"

"Nita, what dorm is your brother staying in?"

"Rockalla Hall"

"Isn't that, like, the same building we're staying in?"

"Bo thought it would be best if we tried to stay in the same building this year. Leon's gonna be upstairs on the fourth floor."

Penny threw a sinister look towards Jessie, "Means that he's got nowhere to run but down. Down into my waiting, loving arms." Jessie and Emz just shook their heads at her devious statements.

"Leon told me that he was happy he could room with Poco."

The two technical girls snapped in Emz's direction, a Cheshire grin stained on their lips. Emz twirled her hair vacantly as she looked out the window. Penny sat down in front of Emz blocking her view. Emz switched to staring straight ahead whistling roughly. Her vision was blocked by Tick's bright smile. She looked down to see Nita snickering as she held his head up.

"Ugh! Like, who's side are you on?"

"Emz you can't just wait forever. I've learned a lot from living on the ship; how to move a drunk man without waking him up, how to move that man into another person's bed, how to shave his belly with a rusty razor."

"Are you quoting, 'What do you do with a drunken sailor?'"

Jessie stared at Penny as she tried to recover from the claim. "The point is, men can do a lot of stupid stuff. Except for work up the courage to tell a girl how they really feel. They can flirt all day but when it's time to be honest, they fold like a sail in the wind."

"Don't you mean like paper?"

"I know what I said," Penny turned back to Emz. "So, stop waiting for Poco to make the first move."

"But what if he, like, doesn't like me?"

"Emz, do you got barnacle for brains?"

"Well she is a zombie…" they all looked at Jessie with dull eyes.

"Anyway, you like him, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And you're tired of waiting for him to make a move?"

"…Yeah"

"And you would be heartbroken if another girl got to him first?"

Emz took out an aerosol can, spraying a toxic pink cloud above her. Jessie, Penny, and Nita all dropped low to avoid getting caught in the spray. The other passengers were unlucky as several started to have deadly coughing fits. Penny watched as a few passengers ran away to the next car. "I'd kill her."

Nita popped up quickly opening a window so the train could air out. Penny and Jessie sat back down, Nita taking a seat in Penny's lap. "Then go out there and take what's yours!"

Emz stood up prepared to walk away. She paused turning back to Penny, "But what about you. Leon's never returned your feelings."

Nita perked up at the comment, "Leon has never said he doesn't like it when she teases him. And whenever we say her name at dinner he always blushes." Penny shot a snooty stare her way.

Emz huffed in frustration. She turned back to the entrance and marched forward down the aisle. Her friends cheering her on in the back seat. Just as she reached out for the door they watched as she slowly collapsed, groans could be heard from down the aisle. "This is gonna be a long year," Penny deadpanned.

Nita looked back with a smile, "But it will be fun."


	2. A Day in the Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to say this one more time. All the characters you see in this story do not reflect how I perceive them in Brawl Stars, Fighter's Story, or any of my other stories I shall create. I want to also preface that any and all stories I write are all alternate realities that have nothing to do with the original game or any other story (unless otherwise stated). Any likeness or similarities are mere coincidence. All relationships, ages, origins, and personalities are 100% non-canon in any other universe. The Brawl Stars characters are merely used as bodies that help visualize the interactions you will see.
> 
> Having said that, if you have any further questions or concerns leave them in the reviews.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.
> 
> -Sammy

The sound of tears was dwarfing the crashing waves against the ship's bow. Within the captain's quarters sat a bawling Darryl, his crewmates trying to cheer up his sunken mood. "Come on captain, you knew this day was coming."

"That doesn't make it better…" he took a long sniff. His high-pitched robotic voice full of distraught garbles, "It only makes me heart hurt worse."

"She's gonna come back, captain. She has her first break in two months."

"TWO MONTHS!" Darryl fired his double-barrel shotgun upward through the deck. His crew ducked hiding from his sudden outburst and wooden debris, "I don't want to wait two months for my princess." He got up from his seat shambling towards a nearby photo. He stared longingly at the picture showing Darryl and Tick holding a small baby with pink hair swaddled up in a blue fabric. Behind them was a large fire and explosions as what looked like a raid was happening around them, "Ever since we found her alone in that burning orphanage, we knew she was destined for greatness. All the other children in that fire were screaming and crying for someone to save them. But for some reason Penny was silent as a mouse, just watching the carnage. I didn't think she would want to go to school."

"Isn't it good she wants to go to school?" a crew member spoke up.

Darryl picked up a paperweight launching it at his head, "PIRATE SCHOOL! But of course, my darling girl would make friends on land and want to go to school there. She could make friends anywhere." Darryl's mood started to shift as his eyes seemed to shut while talking about Penny, "Oh I remember her first time leading a raid. She was so excited to order you boys around." The men within his cabin chattered their agreement as they reminisced on her youthful excitement. "Remember when she first got her Plunderbuss and loaded it with coins instead of gunpowder."

"Who knew it would be a stroke of genius?!" The other crew members cheered as they agreed with the statement.

"Or when she first invented her mortar turret?" another chimed in as they all laughed thinking about her first raid land mission. "Those poor fools thought they were safe behind their little walls."

"Yarr-har-har." Darryl joined in the laughter, "Yes, Penny makes every adventure on this ship a blast. Now she be staying on land every year with her friends, miles away from us."

The mood started to get bleak once more. "Well sir, what about all the amazing things she learned. Like how to overload her mortar when it explodes for a final volley?"

Darryl picked up a random compass using it to attack the member that spoke out, "I COULD HAVE TAUGHT HER THAT!" Darryl rolled around the room knocking over random items and knocking down random crewmates. When he stopped, the hoops around his barrel body were glowing a bright golden hue. "I didn't go to no landlubber's school to learn this."

The other crew members started to calm him down by returning the story to their favorite moments with Penny. They were laughing and drinking with Darryl, the bot getting drunk on a strange oil they found during their last raid. A member of the crew came through the door announcing the return of Penny's escorts. Darryl cheered as he went to greet his first mate, Tick. When he exited the members still within his quarter started to converse. "Darryl gets way too upset this time of year."

"Yeah but give him a couple weeks, he'll be fine once Penny makes her first visit." They all cheered at the hope of Penny returning sooner rather than later, "Look on the Brightside, at least Tick is always here to cheer him up."

"WHERE THE HELL'S HIS HEAD?!" they heard Darryl slur from the top deck.

* * *

"Nothing, like, feels better than a hot shower in the morning," Emz stepped out of their shared bathroom with a green towel wrapped around her body and hair. She moved for her dresser, an oak wood table with a circular mirror to her right. She started to tend to her face before moving into her closet looking for clothes.

"I prefer my showers cold." Penny was sitting on her bed putting on her signature golden earrings. She looked to her nightstand at the snoozing head of Tick sitting beside her treasure chest alarm clock. She gave him a little pat eliciting a small gurgle from his sleeping skull. A little note beside him reminding him not to leave the room till she returned at 3:30. "It's 9:15, Emz. Better hurry up if you wanna catch breakfast."

"Like wait for me!" she cried as she hastily put on some clothes.

Penny made her way out of their shared room to the main corridor. A young robot with a hard hat and bright fluorescent eyes rode past in a miniature minecart. A girl with blue pigtails and a matching hard hat sitting in the back as they flew down the hall.

Penny started her walk for the commons room but stopped at the commotion coming from their neighbors. "Nita, no don't bite that wire!" the sound of an explosion shook the walls before Jessie walked out of her room with a black smoke cloud spewing out.

"Looks like your morning's been fun."

Nita rushed out of the room with soot around her eyes, "It's been awesome." Jessie patted the wild child's head as their room started to clear up.

"All right I have an hour before I need to leave for my class. Who wants to help me clean our room?" she looked down hoping that Nita would be happy to help but she only turned her nose up at the idea. "If you help me clean now I'll let you blow it up again outside."

"YAY!" she cried as she ran back inside. Jessie waved at Penny before closing their door behind her. Penny continued her walk down the hall watching as some people slowly started to wake up and others were already leaving for their morning classes. She took the stairs down to the main lobby where she saw a girl with shiny blonde hair cooking breakfast for a cactus and bubble vest-wearing robot.

Before she left, she heard a child's sneeze followed by glass shattering. As she walked outside, she could see through the glass window a few of the cactus' thorns piercing through the microwave's glass.

Penny took a deep breath; she loved the salty smell of the Phantom Seas but the fresh air on land was a nice substitute. "I love Ratōn Academy." She made her way towards the nearby Serine's diner. A twenty-four-seven restaurant made for the students just a short walk away.

She swiped her card making her way into the main lobby. Around the edges of the building were different themed bars. She went to a custom omelet making station before looking for a place to sit. Most of the tables were already filled with different friend groups and random strangers she had never met. She found her saving grace in the large black pompadour and bright pink earrings of her buddy Bibi.

"Yo, fish outta water, come sit with us," she called when she saw Penny approaching. Penny noticed sitting across from her a short girl with curly orange-tinted hair. The new arrival was strapped in yellow and purple apparel with a matching bee themed backpack. "Penny, meet Bea. Bea, this is Penny."

"Pleasure to meet you, Penny," Bea said reaching out a hand to greet her, her aloof British accent like warm honey on a freshly baked biscuit.

"Aye put 'er there matey!" Penny responded with some comical pirate slang.

Bibi scooted over for her to sit beside them, "We was just talkin' bout you." Penny was interested in the details. "Yeah, Bea here is a big nature buff. Said she wants to travel the world to see all the different bugs an' plants an' stuff."

Bea's eyes lit up, "I heard you travel all over the globe since you live on the sea. Tell me, during your travels have you ever come across the rare Megachile Pluto?"

Penny looked to Bibi for a translation, "Raja ofu, aka Wallace's Giant Bee." Penny was still confused, "It's a really big bee."

"Sorry don't think I've seen it."

"Oh fooey." Bea prodded her food a bit at the disappointment. "Well, what else have you seen during your travels?"

Penny took a second to ponder the question, "Eh the usual things you would expect. Big waves, beaches, booty."

"Booty?" Bea seemed flustered by the statement.

"She means treasure," Bibi translated.

"Well with all that travel you must have visited some pretty wealthy islands. What was that like?" Penny stared off into space, her eyes bugging out as she registered the question. "Penny?" Within her mind, she saw a slideshow of their raids on the wealthy islands across the Phantom Seas. She saw the horrors of countless innocents caught up in their attacks. The different organizations they had to flee after a messy job. "Penny!?"

"Hm?"

"I asked what the wealthy islands are like?"

"They're nice," she said with a twitchy eye.

"Penny! Why didn't you wait for me?" Emz whined as she ran to their table.

"Oh, thank the Jolly Roger. What's up E!" She made a mental note to repay Emz for the unintentional save later. Now it was Emz's turn to be questioned by the curious newcomer. The question to break her being whether she sees a lot of dead bodies? Though Emz handled it much better by looking down at herself and saying, "Every time I look in the mirror. Like, look at me. I'm drop-dead gorgeous."

The group had their share of laughs as they talked the morning away. They lost track of time until Bea checked her phone, "Oh dear, Bibi we should leave our class starts in fifteen minutes."

Penny and Emz started to put their plates away, "Yeah we should probably get going too."

"Oh, your class starts at 10:15 as well?"

They froze, "Umm… say what?"

"Your class… you said it starts soon right. Well, it's 10:00 right now. So your class starts soon, right?"

Penny and Emz looked at each other, a cold sweat forming on their brows. They dashed out the cafeteria in a cloud of pink and purple smoke. "This is, like, the worst first day ever," Emz cried as they rushed down the sidewalk.

"Of all the bilge-sucking, lily-livered things we could do."

"We're Late!" they screeched as they ran to their first class.

* * *

Penny took a long slurp of her peach smoothie. The frozen crystals freezing her overloaded brain. "Ugh, there is nothing like a smoothie from Barley's to make my day better." She and Emz had just finished their first class, History of Brawltopia. They didn't pay much attention since it was the first class of the semester, but they got the info they needed.

"Huuh, you're telling me. That was way too stressful." Emz turned around looking out into the lobby. There was a swarm of people jumping from one shop to the other. She watched as a group of girls left a clothing store giggling to themselves as they made their exit. She made a mental note to drag Penny, Jessie, and Nita to get some new clothes for the girls. "Speaking of class, what do you have next?"

"Chemistry."

"Booo…"

"What about you?"

"Combative Cooking."

Penny was intrigued by the response, "Combative Cooking? Didn't know you liked to cook."

Emz just shrugged, "Figured it'd be fun to learn."

Penny would have pried more but the sound of a stampede of footsteps took her attention. They both looked behind them to see a large group of youths heading their way. At the front of the group (rubbing the crust from her eyes) was Nita with her bear pelt on top of her head.

Penny and Emz smiled at the tiny titan. Deep in their hearts, they envied her. She wasn't even paying the boys any attention, yet they were swarming her as if they were moths and she was their light.

Nita took a seat beside them placing her face down on the countertop. The boys started to take seats beside her before she growled at them scaring them off. Some of the boys still smiling and waving as they ran away. Emz and Penny used all their restraint just to keep smiling at her. "Hey, Nita… rough morning?" Penny asked through gritted teeth.

"Why do all those boys follow me everywhere," she took off her bear pelt scratching her shaggy hair. In the distance, Emz could hear a few boys chattering under their breaths in Nita's direction. One honestly falling into his burger as he lost grip of his chin.

"Like, who knows?" she grumbled.

Penny saw Emz losing her cool, so she redirected the conversation, "So Nita what classes do you have today?"

"Combat Cooking?"

Emz perked up, "You mean Combative Cooking?"

"Yeah, Leon told me it would be fun. Plus, I get to eat food in class."

"Nita we're, like, classmates."

"Really!?" Nita was standing on her stool now.

"Ma'am please don't stand on the stool," the bartender asked.

Nita sat back down, "Oh, can I get the Koalas' Kiss?"

"Coming right up miss," the bartender went to his ingredients allowing the girls to continue conversing.

"Looks like me and Nita get to eat lunch together every Monday," Emz and Nita high fived while Penny voiced her discourse. To her, it wasn't fair that Emz got to have two classes with her friends.

They talked randomly for another five or so minutes until Nita finally got her drink. The green liquid peppered with little black specs and Zoreos on top. She turned around looking out into the lobby as she drank. "Whatcha looking for matey?"

"My brother."

Penny turned around so fast Emz's hair flipped to the opposite side of her head. "When's he supposed to get here."

"He said he would meet me before his next class. He should be here now."

Emz chuckled as she watched the two girls. They both seemed so excited about his arrival. She decided to let them have their fun focusing on her drink and the few minutes she had left before she would need to leave for her next class.

As she refocused on her drink, she noticed a strange oddity on her right. Beside her, she noticed the cashier for a sandwich shop talking to the air. She thought her eyes were playing tricks until she noticed him push a bag forward. The bag started to crumble at the top before it floated away, disappearing behind a wall.

She let a muffled giggle escape her lips alerting Penny, "What's so funny?"

"Uh… nothing. Just saw some guy drop his sandwich." Penny brushed it off deciding to focus on finding Leon. Emz looked towards the wall he vanished behind. He could have this little victory, he wouldn't be able to run for long.

* * *

His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. That was too close. He told Nita that he would meet her for brunch, but he never expected Penny to be there. He was just about to turn the corner and call her name until he saw the pink strand of hair leaking out from under her skull cap. He was thankful his invisibility and small stature combined were able to keep him hidden until he was able to grab his food and leave. He would make it up to Nita later, for now, he just wanted to enjoy his sandwich in peace.

"Whatcha' doin'?"

Leon almost dropped his sandwich at the disembodied voice. He looked up to see Jessie staring at him. His heart started to beat twice as fast. If Jessie were to tell Penny of his position, he would have to leave the entire center.

Jessie looked past the corner towards the three girls. Leon could see her thinking about what to do next. He knew that he was done for, so he slowly started to place his sandwich back in its bag. He watched as Jessie leaned against the wall beside him and took a seat on his left. "Don't worry… I won't tell," she said with a smile.

Most of Leon's face was covered by his lime green chameleon hoodie. He preferred it that way, keeping his face hidden from the world. Today he did something rare, something only his family had the luxury of seeing. He reached under his hood and pulled it up just enough to show a single eye. A glowing green crystal color within his iris, "Thank you…" His voice was soft like he was on the verge of tears. Jessie had taken his side and saved his lunch.

Jessie was mesmerized by the sight. She had never seen anything past his mouth. Her mind was focused solely on his iris, those beautiful green orbs. Jessie's trance-like stare was stopped when he put his hood back down choosing to enjoy his sandwich beside her. She joined him in consuming her lunch on the lobby floor.

They exchanged schedules and talked about how their first classes were, Leon, revealing that he only signed up for Geometrical Design on Monday. "Geometrical Design? Isn't that for the game design course?"

"Yeah… figured it'd be fun."

Jessie thought about where to take the conversation next. Her mind drifted back to her friends, "Hey Leon, can I ask you a question?"

Leon took a bite of his sandwich, "…shoot."

"…Do you not like Penny?"

Leon choked before taking a breath of fresh air. He looked to Jessie, her eyes inquisitive and patient. "She's… okay."

"Just okay?"

"What do you want me to say? She's cute, funny, and an amazing fighter. Not to mention that she doesn't let her grades fall just to goof off with her friends. She's one of the coolest girls I know."

Jessie felt a little better hearing that. It meant that Penny's constant chasing of him wasn't in vain, but she was still confused. "Then why don't you tell her you like her?"

Leon twiddled his thumbs, "It's just… she's so aggressive." Jessie didn't understand. "She's just… too honest. Like she isn't scared of putting herself out there. Don't get me wrong, it's one of her best traits, but I don't think I can handle it." Leon pulled his knees up to his chest, "It's intimidating. Like I don't think I could keep up with her. Worse, like she would just get bored of me." Leon thought to himself about the times her feelings scared him but was too embarrassed to tell her.

Jessie understood his feelings, "Leon…" He towards her, "She's not gonna get bored of you. She might be a popular girl, but that doesn't make her like those snobby popular girls. She's super patient and loves to help others, just look at how we take care of Nita." Leon chuckled at the thought of them trying to control her. "Yeah she can be kinda intimidating but you shouldn't fear her. She's super down to earth, plus she really likes you."

"Down to earth? That's easy for you to say, look at you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you're just a younger, chiller, popular girl." Leon turned to face her, his eyes still shielded, "You're smart, funny, cute, and from what Nita says you're a reliable shoulder to lean on. You're even sitting here with me so I can complain about my emotional problems."

Jessie was starting to blush from the onslaught of compliments, with each word he said he seemed to get closer. The lollipop he kept in his mouth getting closer to her nose.

"You can cook, you can clean. I haven't seen Nita clean her room in years but now she tries to keep it neat saying that you taught her how. You're even a genius in combat, that Energizer power was such a stroke of genius. I'm sure you'll come up with something even cooler this year." Leon's lollipop was practically touching the tip of her nose. He backed off nonchalantly allowing Jessie to breathe again. She could feel her heart beating out of her chest from their proximity combined with the onslaught of compliments. She couldn't remember feeling like this before in her life. "I honestly look up to you, both of you. Meanwhile, I'm just the quiet kid that learned how to turn invisible and run away from fights faster."

Jessie took a few deep breaths before taking over, "As nice as that was, you really shouldn't look down on yourself. You have one of the most powerful attacks out of any of the brawlers in this school. And just because your invisibility gives you a speed boost doesn't mean you have to use it to run away." She looked up to the main clock, 12:45. "Oh no, I'm gonna be late for my next class." Jessie shot up about to make her exit. She turned back to look at Leon. He looked like he folded in on himself even more as she began to leave. In a final effort to cheer him up, she wrapped him up in a warm hug. "You're gonna do great, I know it."

She got up running back the way she came out of sight of Penny and her pals. She couldn't tell while making her exit, but Leon was blushing beneath his hoodie. As she made her way outside, she slowed down when she saw her building in the distance. She reached into her backpack pulling out a bottle of water, taking a long swig.

When she felt her temperature cooling down, she thought about all the things Leon was saying. It was nice to hear someone compliment her from time to time. She blushed as she thought about how pretty his emerald green eyes were, "Penny is a really lucky girl. Leon is really cute when he's upset." She snickered as she had an interesting thought, "I wonder how cute he is when he's happy?"

* * *

"Phew. Aye barkeep, the usual," Penny groaned.

"Two weeks in a row. Mr. Barley would be very happy to know he has such regular customers." The bartender dipped behind the bar pulling out some ingredients. Emz laughed as she watched her best friend complain about her day.

"Like what kinda quack of a teacher gives a test on the second week of class?!" Penny took an aggressive sip of her strawberry shortcake smoothie.

"I thought Tuesday & Thursday were your favorite days?"

"Aye tis the best day. But math is the worst," she responded in a high-pitched pirate's voice. "2 o'clock be me saving grace."

They could hear the marching of a crowd approaching them. A large group of girls was making their way towards Penny and Emz. The girls closest to them had their backs turned as they talked to whatever was at the center of the swarm. From the masses burst an enraged Nita yelling at all the girls to go away. They said their goodbyes as they dispersed into the lobby.

"You're pretty popular bucko?"

"Ugh, I don't know why." She took off her bear head, scratching her messy hair. From behind they heard a few girls giggling until Nita turned around growling at them. "They're so annoying," she huffed in her seat.

Emz stabbed at her salad, "You poor thing."

Jessie approached next, "Heard a crowd, figured Nita wouldn't be far behind. What's up?" She took a seat beside the three girls.

Penny spoke up, "Just waiting for our next class."

"Oh, you must mean the best class."

Nita jumped into the conversation, "My favorite class!"

Emz stood up with a drink in hand, "We talking bout~"


	3. Monkey Wrench

"ADVANCED COMBAT TRAINING!"

The four girls stood in front of a large marble white building. The sun glared off the far west side as they watched students flood into the building. Nita was the first to break from the group rushing headfirst into the building. Jessie following along as her doggy-faced backpack bounced with her step. Penny and Emz took a deep breath before they joined the mass of bodies moving into the building.

As they entered, they took in the shining wood flooring. There were lights on every wall illuminating the hallways and shining off the metal railing lining the stairway. The older duo watched as Nita hopped into a nearby elevator, Jessie holding the door as they quickly joined them.

"I wanna push it. Let me push it," Nita begged as the door closed around them. The girls nodded as she rushed to the buttons. The elevator's buttons were listed from the ground floor to all six floors in the building. Each floor had two exits one on the right called exit A and one on the left called exit B. Nita traced her fingers from the bottom floor exit A down to the fire rescue button. She then slowly moved her finger to the left until she felt an indent in the panel. As she depressed the hidden button the elevator's internal lights switched from a bright yellow beam to a dim blue glow.

A female robotic voice filled the small six by six box. "Four occupants detected…" Four chairs appeared against the left and right walls. They resembled the restraints found on a rollercoaster or a two-hundred-foot drop tower within an amusement park. The girls strapped in, Nita bouncing up and down in her seat while Jessie started to take deep breaths. Penny looked to Emz as she started wrapping her purse around the seat. "Please hold on as we prepare for your departure."

Penny could feel the car slowly begin to rise a few feet. When the car stopped its slow rise, they could feel the car drop as their speed began to rapidly accelerate. Jessie's pigtails rising into the air with their continued descent. Emz's hair stood on end resembling a mohawk while Nita momentarily lost her bear pelt mask before she snatched it from the sky.

Their car started to slow down as they came to a brief stop. "Moving forward," the woman's voice came back through the intercom. The three older girls took a few quick breaths while Nita just giggled with joy. Emz quickly threw her hair over her right side while Jessie patted down her hat. The car shot onward now moving horizontally towards their final location. The feeling of the shifting G-forces seeming to rearrange their organs as they held on for their ride. Nita screeched at the top of her lungs as their car hit max speed before finally slowing down.

When the car stopped moving their restraints unlocked allowing them to move again, "Thank you. Have a nice day." Nita and Jessie jumped out of their seats patting their clothes down. Penny hopped up quickly fixing her skull cap before pressing the open-door button.

"Wait, I'm not ready!" Emz cried as she tried to fix her clothes and hair. She pulled out a spray can and started treating her hair. The three girls screamed as they smashed the door button barely getting the door open before their lungs were filled with her toxic fumes.

As the door slowly cracked open the three girls fell out in a heap into their final room. The cold metal flooring chilling their skin as they looked onward. The room around them was a barebones metal box with a few training dummies, a climbing wall, and a small circular pit being the only outliers. There were a few doors in the far back of the room that led to their lockers and restrooms, but the room was mostly barren.

Penny scanned the current bodies within the room. She saw the same small robot with his yellow hard hat still riding inside his modified minecart. Beside him was the blue-haired girl laughing as she listened to the robot. Beside them were her friends Shelly and Brock as they conversed with the duo.

She looked away from their group and noticed a one-eyed robot wearing a navy-blue bubble vest talking with a blond girl in a baby-blue dress. The blond girl seemed to be leading the discussion with the robot just nodding his head as he let her speak. Beside them following along was Poco. Penny's eyes lit up as she saw the yellow skeleton. She looked to his right and finally found her point of interest.

His lime green hoodie glowing like a ray of sunshine inside the colorless room. His neutral mouth chewing on his signature lollipop. Penny jumped up from the pile of her friends as she rushed for Leon. The only thing stopping her was the feeling of someone grabbing her shirttail.

Emz pulled Penny back, wrapping her up in a bear hug. "Down girl. You'll get your chance later." Penny squirmed in her grip. She eventually gave up accepting her dilemma. Nita however was happy to greet her brother.

"LEON!" she screamed as she rushed to her brother's side. Leon dropped low to catch his little sister. The two embraced for a while as Nita told him about her day. Leon started to understand the gravity of her presence. He looked up to where she ran from, he could see Jessie waving in his direction as she walked off to the side. In front of her was Emz as she gripped a squirming Penny. Penny met Leon's eyes and threw a wink in his direction. A chill running through his spine from her gesture.

Nita broke from his hug and made her way back to her friends. In their group, Emz placed Penny down allowing her to stretch before their class began. Penny was still grumpy, "I just wanted to say hello."

"You'll have time to do a lot more than just say hello," Emz started stretching her legs. She pulled out some extra spray cans and shook them up.

Jessie pulled out her shock rifle, opening a panel and sparking it to life. "You two came up with another plan?"

Penny pulled out her Plunderbuss and took some coins out of her mini treasure chest. "Not only do we have a plan, it's foolproof." Jessie chuckled at Penny's confidence. Their plans never worked, but she was excited to see this one succeed.

Nita jumped up from her pushups and started to do aggressive sit-ups. "Where is he?! I wanna start!" Nita started switching to explosive squats as they awaited their instructor.

"Knowing him he's, like, probably going to do some grand entrance." As if on queue the lights within the room went dark. "Speak of the devil." Emz looked around trying to adjust to the darkness. Just as her eyes started to adjust a bright floodlight focused on the middle of the room. The students all looked towards the illuminated spot as a body jumped into the center. The large figure was wrapped in a blue cloak and wore a red mask with blue fins around his ears. The students cheered as the figure bowed to them. He quickly threw off his cape revealing his massive muscles and blue tights. He ripped off his red mask showing the true simplistic blue mask he wore underneath.

He opened his mouth to speak, his voice sounding off like thunder in the metal room. It sounded like a ring announcer in a boxing match had a Hispanic accent, "I am El Primo!" The students clapped and cheered as he continued his greeting, "And welcome to another wonderful day of…" He pointed to the students as they screamed with him, "ADVANCED COMBAT TRAINING!"

"That's gonna get old," Jessie deadpanned as Nita screeched with the wrestler.

El Primo continued his speech, "Now who's excited for another wonderful week of brawling?" The students lost their minds at the mention of brawling. The lights came back to life as the students continued their cheering. "Wonderful. I remember when I was first told I had to teach ACT I thought this would be pointless. But when I saw this class's scores last year, I knew you were something special." Primo took a second to look over his students. Noticing some people were high-fiving while others just sheepishly grinned at the compliments.

Emz looked towards Poco as Bibi took him and Leon in a dual headlock. Emz couldn't help quietly laugh as she watched the three friends interacting. She refocused on Primo as he continued his lecture, "Now this class will be a little different than the last. Previously I wanted to see all the star powers you learned last year. The goal for this semester is simple, perfect your combat skills with your current star powers and learn a new star power."

"A new star power?!" Penny's eyes lit up at the idea of having two powerful abilities under her belt. The rest of the students started murmuring as they imagined what they could come up with for their new abilities.

Primo saw the students getting wild, "Calm down. That is not what you should be focusing on. Today we have a special assignment. I need everyone to get together in pairs of two," Primo looked out into the crowd. They were confused with the request.

Bea stepped up, "But sir, there are fifteen of us. Sandy missed class today. How will we split into teams of two?"

Primo pondered the predicament before smiling like a mad man, "Then I will allow one of you to be on my team." Primo stood with his arms out and eyes closed awaiting their rush, "Who wants to be on team Primo?!" Primo stood still as he listened for the sound of thirty rushing footsteps. Instead, the room fell silent. Primo opened his eyes to see all the students staring at him. "No one wants to be on Primo's team?"

All the students pointed directly at El Primo. He was stunned by their reaction. He expected that they would jump at the chance to team with the legendary El Primo. He felt something tug on his tights. When he looked down, he could see the top of Nita's bear pelt. Under her red mask was the bright white dots that represented her eyes. She was visibly vibrating while she stood under him. "HAHAHA! Yes! Of course!" he picked Nita up letting her sit on his bicep while he flexed to the students. "Our team shall be called, Masked Menaces." Nita screeched her approval as she repeated the name to her classmates. "Now, find your partners!"

The students began to scramble as they looked for a partner. Some found their alleys with ease. Others were still weighing their options. Penny and Emz were discussing their plan. "So, Leon and Poco are defiantly on a team together." Emz nodded her head. "Then the plans simple. I sneak up on Leon and snatch him away from Poco. Poco won't have a partner so you can swoop in and take Leon's place on his team."

"And you'll be all alone with Leon." Penny snickered at the thought of having Leon all to herself. Emz stilled her nerves as she prepared for her one on one time with Poco.

"Ready?" Penny's earring seemed to shine a little brighter as she prepared to make her move.

Emz's patted down some of her bandages and checked her hair with her phone, "Ready."

Penny turned around and made her way towards the duo. She saw Leon's green hoodie in the middle of a sea of students. Slipping between the cracks in the mob she could hear Leon talking. "You sure you don't mind if I don't team with you?"

Penny froze at the statement. She paused behind the bubble vest robot using him as cover to eavesdrop. "Honestly I'm happy you're teaming with someone else." Penny heard Poco's higher voice break the murmurs of the crowd. "It's good for us to try fighting with other teammates. We can see what we are capable of, test our limits ya know."

Penny's eyes lit up at the development. She saw Emz shifting through the crowd behind her signaling for her to catch up. "They aren't teaming."

"What?"

"Leon and Poco. They aren't teaming up. They need partners."

"Like, like they would be happy to work with us?"

"Someone's looking out for us girl." The two girls squealed silently as they steeled their nerves. This was their chance to finally make a move.

"Penny. He needs a teammate right, maybe try to be a little less aggressive?" Emz advised.

Penny blew a frustrated breath, "I'll try. But he's just so cute when he fidgets."

Emz knew her friend well enough to know she wouldn't be able to hold back. Now she couldn't worry about her, she needed to focus on her target. The two took another step forward as they were about to break through the crowd.

Leon spoke up again, "Cool… then I'll team up with Jessie and you can work with Bibi today." Jessie snatched Leon's hand up in her grasp as she thanked him graciously. Bibi took Poco in a big headlock as she teased the smaller skeleton.

Bibi turned around to Bea, "You don't mind do ya?"

"Not at all. In fact, I am interested in what Max and I could do together."

Max slid beside her speaking a million words a minute, "With your range and my speed we'll be unstoppable. Come on let's get some warmup laps in before we start." She tossed a drink to Bea who chugged it without a second thought. As she felt the atoms in her body begin to vibrate, she saluted her friends before dashing off with Max.

"Well looks like I got a medic. Now I can be as reckless as I want," Bibi noogied the top of his yellow skull as she teased the minute musician.

"Please don't be too reckless," Poco pleaded.

"And I'll have some range to cover my rushes," Leon reached a fist out to Jessie who excitedly bumped it.

"Yeah now if I'm in trouble up close you can handle it for me."

The four students giggled as they congregated together approaching the other teams surrounding Primo. On the side, Penny and Emz stared slack jaw in awe at the events that just transpired. Penny shook from her stupor first, "The hell does she think she's doing?!"

* * *

"Glorious. It seems we have some very interesting teams today." Primo stood at the center of the circle with all the students around him. He was surprised by some of the teams that were formed. A very interesting duo was the combo of Poco and Bibi as the latter seemed to be using her size advantage to toy with the former. He knew the strategies used by members of the brawling field to push aggression with a healer pocketing a beefy brawler. Their team had his eye the most.

Though most of his attention was drawn to the teams of Penny/Emz and Jessie/Poco. More specifically the way Penny was shooting daggers from her eyes as she watched the duo. The two members of her query were cowering behind the other students as they watched her carefully.

When Nita saw the interactions, she started rolling on the floor laughing only increasing Primo's suspicions. This was some inside joke or personal affair. One he would not trouble himself with, "Now that we have our teams, I would like all of you to look at the floor behind you." The students turned as Primo pulled a remote out from his tights. He pressed a few buttons causing eight blue panels to light up below them. "Each team please pick a platform to stand on then await your next instructions."

Most of the students rushed forwards toward a panel leaving three open in the middle. The only teams left without a panel were Primo/Nita, Penny/Emz, and Jessie/Leon. Nita pulled on Primo's arm, "Follow me." She led Primo to the panel furthest to the left beside Shelly and Brock. The only panels left open were two directly beside each other.

Penny dragged a distracted Emz towards one of the panels. The two stood there with drastically different moods. Emz's eyes were lingering on Bibi and Poco. She watched in envy while Bibi hummed along with Poco as he played a tune. She imagined herself in Bibi's place singing a song to match his music.

Penny however showed rage in her eyes. She was staring a hole through Jessie as she tried to comprehend what she was thinking. It wasn't a secret to anyone that Penny liked Leon. It also was a well-known fact that she wasn't the kind of girl to share her loot. Was Jessie just desperate for a teammate or was she challenging Penny's authority?

Jessie and Leon meekly made their way beside the duo, Leon fiddling with the tongue on his hoodie while Jessie held onto his sleeve.

As they took their spot beside Penny and Emz, Jessie could feel the fire coming from Penny's breath. Primo started his explanation but was overwhelmed by Penny's rage. "The hell are you doing Jessie."

"I'm sorry okay… I just needed a partner. Nita abandoned me." Penny's head snapped to Nita who quit snickering when she felt Penny's rage. "He was the first person I thought about. Besides your teaming with Emz."

"The plan was to snatch up Leon so that Emz could be alone with Poco."

Leon heard the conversation but chose to stay quiet. He didn't want to evoke Penny's wrath. Jessie countered her argument, "Why didn't you tell me your plan before we got into teams?"

"I didn't think you would get in the way."

Primo's voice cut through their conversation, "Now is everybody ready?"

"Ready for what?" Penny asked Emz. Emz just shrugged showing she wasn't listening.

"Good luck." Primo pressed a button on his remote causing the panels beneath their feet to disappear. The teams screamed as they fell into the dark shoots. Penny grabbed Emz's hand as they continued their descent. Fluorescent lights started to flash past them as their backs slid against a smooth metal ramp. The girls started to calm down as they felt their free fall transition into a super slide.

Penny and Emz started to forget their predicament choosing to enjoy the ride. The lights began to spread out further as they saw the slide begin to brighten. The bright light's source coming into view as the dark tunnel gave way to a barren expanse of clay ground. The girls dropped from the bottom of the chute falling through the air. They tried to observe the land while they screamed at the top of their lungs.

Penny taking note of the large arrangements of walls scattered around the field. She tried to notice some pattern to the mounds across the ground, but they seemed sporadic and non-seneschal. Emz looked down and noticed two things; a large metal box in the middle of a small clearing and a large blue pad beside it.

Emz gripped Penny as they crashed into the blue drop pad. The pad deflated with their contract allowing them to escape to step onto the dirty red ground. As they observed their new location, the blue pad turned into water evaporating into the ground. Emz asked the first question, "Where are we?"

"Students!" The girls heard El Primo's voice sound off around them. They looked up to the sky for a sign of his location but found an expanse of fluffy white clouds. "Now this is the only time I'm saying this so listen close. You have been placed in one of two battlefields. If you did your research, you should know where you are by the name on that safe."

Emz walked towards the giant silver safe. She looked around the outside, finding a small plaque on the back. "Vault Defenders? That make any sense to you?" Penny was stumped as well.

"Now that you know where you are, remember, don't let them get to the safe. Defend the safe and you will be rewarded."

"Them?" Penny asked as the sound of a bell rang through the arena. Emz walked around looking through the paths visible from the safe. "Who is 'them'?" Emz looked back shrugging until she pointed in Penny's direction.

"Get down!" she shot a blast of her heinous hair spray in her direction. Penny rolled out the way as she turned on Emz.

"Trying to run a rig on me?" She looked towards Emz's spray as a robot walked through the cloud. The robot looked worst for wear after making its way through Emz's attack, allowing Penny to finish it off with a single shot. The robot crumbled into separate parts before evaporating in a puff of smoke. Penny turned to Emz for an answer, but she was just as confused. The sound of a gun firing nearby followed by Emz clutching at her arm alerted them to the sniper within range. Penny quickly fired off a few rounds of her coin pouch projectiles into the bot dropping it with ease. "You okay?"

Emz shook the attacked arm as she tried to heal up. A thumbs-up was enough to signify that she would be okay with a short break. "Hahaha! Well done Nita! You and that bear are outstanding!" Primo's voice ran through the arena again. "Now to all the students that just made it through the first wave. Remember they shoot to kill. Good luck."

"Did he, like, say kill?" Emz looked down the small passages that led away from the safe. She could see the glowing red eyes of their approaching enemies.

Penny groaned at the incoming swarm, "Sink me…"

* * *

Their prime objective is simple. Destroy the safe. They did not know why they must do this; they only knew that it was their one goal in life. As the robot rushed forward into the open field it noticed an outlier in its path. Beside it was a green figure with most of its face concealed. The figure seemed to be consuming something as it stood against the wall.

"What's up," the boy greeted.

The robot's protocol told it to rush towards the safe, but this boy was in its way. The robot swiftly turned in the boy's direction throwing some wild fists at his chest. The robot swore it punched him square in his heart, but the boy seemed to disappear before his eyes.

"I'm over here."

The robot turned around to find the boy's new location but was quickly ripped to shreds by eight razor-sharp blades flying from the boy's sleeves. As the robot's body fell apart its head was the only thing still functional. He looked towards the assassin. To think this small child was able to destroy it, a robot born to succeed. It looked to the boy for some form of an answer to who he was.

"Huh… wonder how many more grunts we're gonna have to kill before we're done?"

'I'm… a grunt?'

The robot's body disappeared into smoke just like all the other's Leon had busted. He used his superior speed to rush back to Jessie at the center. She was sitting beside the safe as she watched her turret destroy any bots that got close. The beefier bots falling after a single shot of her shock rifle. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the bright clothing Leon sported everywhere he traveled, "How things looking out there?"

"Same as when we started, just a bunch of random grunts throwing their bodies at the safe. Thought Primo said this would be a challenge?" The sound of a bear roaring and a girl screeching filled the arena. "Nita?"

"Sorry, turned my mic on early." Primo's voice spoke to them from the skies. "Now I'm guessing that most of you have come to a pretty smooth system for dealing with the bots. I don't see any of you have failed yet so I'm guessing it's time I introduced the real challenge. I would like to introduce all of you to the boss round."

Jessie looked up at Leon, "Did he say, boss?"

A fanfare played around them. The two looked to one another trying to understand what was going on. Leon looked around noticing a lack of incoming robots. "Jessie?" Leon looked towards the brains of their combo as she stared at the ground. Jessie put her ear to the floor without saying a word. "Jessie?"

Jessie watched as the tiny pebbles around them began to bounce up periodically. Leon noticed the ground beneath them shake as they continued to talk. He looked to her for some form of an answer but was frightened by the look on her face. Jessie pointed a shaky finger behind Leon.

He nervously turned around as he prepared for what he was going to see. Behind him was a giant robot the size of a small building. It had one giant red glowing eye with an angry eyebrow across the top. The boxing gloves that the other robots had were replaced with spiked balls sporting bright red tips.

Leon gulped as he realized the two of them would have to fight this off by themselves. Leon was going to talk to Jessie about a game plan, but she rushed past him dashing towards the giant robot. Leon wondered if Nita was rubbing off on her before running past her.

As Leon got closer, he was astonished by the robot's size. The fist alone could crush Leon with a single swing. He didn't know how they were going to fight a bot this large by themselves. He decided the first step would be leading the destructive force away from the safe. "Hey!" the robot looked down towards the lime green boy. "Catch me if you can."

Leon ran directly beside the bot dodging a few stray swings as the bot chased him down. He was much faster than the boss, easily running circles around it while Jessie laid shot after shot of her shock rifle into its back. Leon kept up his offensive with volley after volley of razor blades but noticed the boss' advanced refused to falter. "Jessie, how much longer on S.C.R.A.P.P.Y?"

"Just keep him distracted, I've almost got him charged up." Leon continued to distract the boss while Jessie kept her distance. A stray punch tripping him up for a second. The ground beneath him cracking from the giant metal balls it called fists. Leon was starting to get the hang of dodging when Jessie called out something strange.

The boss robot had stopped moving. Its body flashing red as it looked directly at Leon. He put more space between the robot and himself as he prepared for the next attack. The giant bot's chest sunk inward, opening to reveal a giant sentry gun. Leon watched as the robot started shooting giant lasers in his direction. The beams cracking the ground around him as the explosions rocked the arena they were dropped into. He quickly ducked behind a nearby wall for cover, "Jessie! How much longer?!"

"Just a few more shots!"

The sound of the walls crumbling frightened him as a few shots blew up beneath his feet. They felt like fire against his skin as he was sent flying through the sky into another clay wall. He laid in the small crater he left in the plateau as he watched the robot stop its attack. "Damn. Primo was serious about 'shooting to kill'."

He hopped out of the crater. His back felt especially sore from the blast. He could feel the bruises starting to form across his spine. He tried to take a deep breath but felt a sharp pain run through his lungs. Inspecting the boss once again he noticed a few wires starting to show from under its panels. Sparks jumping from its head as it twitched violently. They almost had it beat, he just needed to distract it for a little longer.

Just as he was about to approach the boss he felt his legs give out beneath him. He felt his lungs filling with water as he started hacking up streams of his blood. He watched in horror as the robot turned away from him, locking onto Jessie.

"RUN!"

Jessie backpedaled the best she could as she tried to stop the boss. She deployed S.C.R.A.P.P.Y just a few feet behind her. The turret tried everything in its power to stop the bot's advance, but it was like an unstoppable freight train.

Jessie retreated behind her turret hoping that the damage S.C.R.A.P.P.Y could do would finish their target. She was heartbroken to see her pet fall in just three swift hits. She didn't even have the chance to save him with her energizing shots before the boss destroyed her friend. Jessie instinctually ran away back to the center of the map.

Her back meeting against the cold steel as she tried to make a final stand. The robot absorbing each of her electric projectiles as if they were just fuel for a fire. At the last possible moment, Jessie jumped out the way allowing the bot to connect with their safe. Jessie tried to stop the monstrous attacks with her gun, but the bot had locked in on its final objective.

She was prepared to accept defeat. They were so close, but the bot was too strong. Its giant spiked fists ripping their safe to smithereens. Just as she was going to place her rifle down, she saw the bot's knees start to buckle. Its fist swinging at the air as it tried to find an equilibrium. A few sparks and four shining red razor blades shooting from its knees. From behind the boss, she saw Leon running around trying to stop the robot's assault. A line of blood trickling from his mouth.

Jessie was amazed as she saw the shy boy in a new light. He was fighting through the immense pain of the boss' punch. He didn't let his fears hold him back. He had an objective and he was going to complete it. Even if it was the last thing he did.

"Jessie! Don't quit! We can finish it!" He disappeared in a puff of smoke before reappearing on top of the safe. The boss's eye now staring directly at him, "Can't hit what you can't see!" He threw four blades directly into the red lens of the boss. The giant bot taking a step back before continuing to punch anything ahead of it.

Jessie joined in Leon's last stand with a few more shots from her rifle, feeling S.C.R.A.P.P.Y charge up for another defense. She tossed S.C.R.A.P.P.Y into the bottom left corner of the clearing near the safe. The two students screamed at the top of their lungs as they emptied all the ammo they had into the boss.

With a magnificent explosion, the boss finally fell apart with its massive spiked fists crashing to the floor in a pile of smoke. Leon laid down against the safe as he gathered his thoughts. The feeling in his chest still aching as he tried to breathe. Jessie took a seat beside him as S.C.R.A.P.P.Y cooled down, resting her head on Leon's shoulder.

Leon wrapped an arm around Jessie as the two tried to relax their nerves. "That was… close." Leon crunched down on his lollipop before throwing the plastic stick onto the ground. Jessie reached into her bag pulling out two bottles of water. She handed one to Leon who graciously partook in the refreshment.

Jessie sipped on her drink lightly while she thought about her words, "Hey… don't get embarrassed but… you were really cool out there." Leon choked on his drink at the sudden compliment. He looked down at Jessie as she defensively threw up her hands, "Not to be weird. It's just… you are always so quiet and reserved. Watching you take control, fighting off a boss so much stronger than you… it was… attractive." Leon flinched at the word choice. "INSPIRING! It was inspiring! You inspired me to keep fighting. That's what I meant."

Jessie tried to laugh off her mistake. Leon choosing to accept it as a simple mistake continued to drink the last drops of his water. Blowing out a cool breath as he felt the cold liquid chill his burning body. Jessie couldn't help but stare at Leon as he relaxed against the safe. His mouth seemed to glisten in the sun as he pulled another lollipop from his hoodie pocket. Unwrapping it before popping it into his mouth. Jessie could swear she saw his pink tongue wrapping itself around the sucker before his lips encompassed it.

The two relaxed against the safe. Jessie nuzzling into his side as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. "Well done students!" The two jolted up as they heard Primo's voice. "Well, the ones that beat the boss. For every one that lost, I'm sorry to tell you but you have failed the first test." Leon and Jessie looked at each other with a smile as they finally registered their victory. "To the students that succeeded… you're almost done."

Leon and Jessie were heartbroken.

"Yes, that's right I know beating the boss with only two people was nearly impossible, but the worst has yet to come. You have one final wave of bots to deal with. And these are even stronger." In the background, they heard Nita cheering at the news of more robots. "Now survive this final wave and you have passed the test and earned your rewards."

The sound of Primo's voice disappearing gave way to the thundering footsteps approaching the two students. Leon slowly got up, clutching at his aching stomach as he prepared for the final wave. He reached a handout to Jessie, "One final fight?"

From the corner of his hood, Jessie could see Leon's dazzling green eyes and a tuff of brown hair covering his head. His smile was warm and comforting, drawing her deeper into his gaze. She reached a hand out to meet his, he pulled her up without a warning causing her to fall into his chest. The two pulled away from each other as they tried to dust themselves off, the approaching swarm getting louder. They nodded their heads to one another before Leon disappeared before her eyes. She looked around to find him until she turned around to meet his face. A wispy shadowy form of himself that could be seen through his invisibility, "I've got your back." He backed away from her, she assumed he was rushing headfirst into the bots to soften them up before they could get to her. Jessie charged up her rifle and shot a few bolts into S.C.R.A.P.P.Y as they prepared for the final wave.


	4. The Pythagorean Theorem

"Two snipers, Port to Stern!"

"English!"

"Behind you and to your left!"

Penny and Emz had been pushed back to their safe. The final wave of attacks was far tougher than the previous robots. They were barely able to deal with the boss robot by themselves. They had range on their side but stopping the boss from reaching the safe was nearly impossible. The only object they had to body block was Penny's mortar. The mortar's body was perfect for keeping it distracted while Emz sprayed it down for bonus damage thanks to her special made Bad Karma hairspray.

Every time Penny's mortar went down it blasted the boss with huge hits of bonus damage while Emz slowed it down with her super. When Penny couldn't charge her mortar up again they were forced to trade blows with the boss until she could drop another mortar. The two girls were taking a breather after finally defeating the giant robot (their clothes were torn and their bodies beaten) when Primo informed them of the final wave. Now they were busting their asses trying to fight off the oncoming onslaught.

"There's two more of those little, like, bug coming from your left."

Penny lined up a shot into the front runner of the two bots watching as the second fell apart under the spreading damage. Emz finished the survivor with a quick puff of spray while Penny slid past her to drop a mortar beside the safe. "Damn bots are too fast for the mortar to hit. Emz how long before your super?"

"I need more time."

"Dammit, I don't know how much more we have." Penny turned to her right blasting another bot in the face until her bell was rung by a boxer bot.

"Penny!" Emz sprayed the offending bot down while she checked on Penny. "You okay?"

"I've… had worse." Penny clutched her head as the robots kept coming. Penny tried to grab her Plunderbuss but saw it laying on the ground a few feet away. Emz tried to blast away a few more bots but without Penny's instant damage to support her, the bots just walked through the corrosive chemicals.

Emz backed up as she tried to shield Penny. They didn't have a way out. She could try to run away but with the damage their safe had already taken, leaving it without some defense would be an instant failure. She looked down at Penny as she looked to her active mortar. The turret tried to hit the incoming enemies but all its attacks missed without the help of Emz's slow.

Emz started panicking, she wasn't the leader of their group. She never had to make these tough decisions. The only thing she wanted to lead was the fashion industry or the walk down the runway. The swarm around her grew as snipers started to get in range. At the front were several boxing bots followed by the mini pinchers. They were glowing red to indicate their increased strength.

The bots grew closer, their aggression directed at the two girls. Emz didn't know what to do. She was pushed to her limits. She just wanted them to, "BACK OFF!" Emz smashed the ground with her spray cans causing a small circular cloud of chemicals to pulse around her. The bots that were within range were blasted backward colliding into each other in a tiny pile. Emz stared in surprise at her strange attack. She inspected her spray cans to find an answer but was more confused as she continued to look.

Penny, however, jumped into action. She used their newly acquired distance to dive for her Plunderbuss blasting a group of bots and watching them explode into a puff of metallic smoke. She reached onto her back and dropped a new mortar on the ground. Her current mortar starting to vibrate as it was overloading. "Emz!"

Emz snapped out of her stupor. She pressed a button on her purse, seeping out around her was a dark purple cloud of smoke drifting low to the ground. Penny was apprehensive of jumping into the cloud with her but Emz nodded in her direction. "This is my perfected super. This is… Caustic Charisma." Emz stood in the middle of the giant purple cloud with her hands on her hips.

The robots that continued to push forward were slowed down by the toxic cloud. Penny watched as the purple haze seemed to slowly chip away at the metal plating of the robots. She looked back to her first mortar with a crooked grin, "Fire in the hole!"

Her mortar exploded unleashing four final mortar shots out to random targets. The combo of Emz's Caustic Charisma plus Penny's Last Blast made nailing opponents with the mortar bombs a piece of cake. After being bounced back by Emz's strange attack, most of the bots were grouping up allowing Penny's mortars to nail even more opponents.

Penny cackled like a villain as she watched the carnage the two were making. Parts and pieces of robots clambering to the floor as they fell apart around them. Penny stood behind Emz as the two kept their offense going. Coin bags flying while toxic clouds lingered in the air around them. They forgot that they were fighting to defend the safe as they had their fun ripping all the bots apart.

Emz joined in with Penny's sadistic laughter as they continued to destroy the droids. Even when the bots stopped coming and Emz's Caustic Charisma subsided they still couldn't help but cackle at the mayhem they created. Emz calmed down when she noticed the lack of robots, "That… was… intense," she puffed out between staggered breaths.

Penny nodded her agreement before taking a seat against the safe. Emz sat beside her trying to recover from the adrenaline rush. Penny punched Emz's shoulder, "What was that attack?" Emz was confused by the question. "That weird tiny circle you did? The one you pushed the bots back with. What was that?"

Emz looked at her spray cans as she tried to understand herself. Her undead features alive with confusion, "I have, literally, no clue."

"Congratulations!" The girls looked to the sky for Primo's next instructions. "I am proud to announce that if you can hear me, you passed!"

Emz and Penny jumped for joy at the announcement. They were finally done. The two laid in the clay in a puff of dust as they enjoyed the sound of silence.

"The number to the vault is 7-12-17. Collect your rewards."

The girls looked at each other before rushing towards the vault. Penny put an ear to the door as Emz spun the wheel listening for the clicks of the locks rolling. When Emz rolled over the number seventeen Penny's eyes lit up as she signaled to open the safe.

Emz slowly cracked it open as she inspected the contents. Inside the safe were two brown pouches and a note. Penny took one of the pouches inspecting its weight, "Pretty heavy."

Emz grabbed her pouch and read the note inside, "Heal up quick, cause next class is all about that…" Emz looked at Penny with a perplexed expression, "Bolt Economy?"

Penny shrugged at the phrase. She wiped her dusty head with the burlap sack before she cracked it open. Her eyes shining off the contents inside, "Emz… look inside."

Emz pulled open her sack and gawked at the surprise. She dumped the contents of the sack on the ground. There was a small pile of glistening green gemstones. Penny poured hers out to inspect their collective size. Between the two they saw anywhere from 400 – 500 gems together. "That over 200 gems each. That's, like, free manny petties for the rest of the year."

"That's new golden rings for me, Darryl, and a golden embroider bandana for Tick."

"That, like…"

The two girls turned to each other, "ANYTHING WE WANT!"

They danced around as they embraced each other. They gathered up their gemstones flaunted their newly acquired currency. "Now that you got your rewards…" Primo's voice filled the arena. "It's time we go back to school."

A bright light pierced through the sky. Penny and Emz looked up as the sky shifted from a beautiful blue to blinding white. The light seemed to pour down on them, engulfing them in its warm rays. They felt their bodies lift off the ground as they floated in the air. The world around them being replaced by the light.

Then as soon as it appeared it left. When their eyes readjusted, they saw the basic metal room of their classroom. Penny and Emz looked down and saw they were suspended in the air. They fell to the ground in a heap as they crashed into the cold metal flooring face first.

More people appeared beside them, accompanied by a female robotic voice announcing their arrivals. "Shelly and Brock have completed Robo Rumble."

Brock landed on his butt, his shades were shattered with his jacket torn and his jeans tattered. Shelly landed on her feet, her hair was standing up even higher than usual with the barrel of her gun coated in black soot. "See… told ya… all under control."

"You must be joking. I don't have enough ammo to deal with that many bots." Brock inspected his shades before throwing them onto the floor.

"Jacky and Carl have completed Robo Rumble."

Carl's goggle-eyes were cracked but his smile still shined bright. "I think we handled that swimmingly."

Jacky picked Carl up in a deep hug, her clothes torn and scratch covering her face, "You stupid bot. Don't ever throw yourself into danger like that again. I'm the tank ya hear." The two embraced as they settled into their new location.

"Bibi and Poco have completed Robo Rumble."

Bibi landed feet first with Poco in her hands like a bride, "We made it."

"Umm… Thanks, Bibi…" Poco jumped out of her arms as he quickly dusted off his clothes. He took off his hat revealing his bare yellow skull, Bibi patting the smaller skeletons head. Poco pulled out their two matching burlap sacks of gems, the two cheering for their victory.

"Jessie and Leon have completed Robo Rumble."

Leon and Jessie appeared higher in the air than the rest, falling a greater distance. Leon instinctually grabbed Jessie and placed her above him so he would hit the floor first. Jessie landed on top of Leon knocking the wind out his lungs alongside a little blood. When the two started to stir, Jessie noticed that she was sitting on Leon's lap, the boy holding her hips as he started to wake up. The girl looked down at the boy's hood, beneath it she could see a faint blush forming across his cheeks. She looked to Leon's holey hoodie and noticed her jacked-up jacket. Her face turned a deep rosy red at the perplexing predicament. She jumped off the mystical boy, apologizing as she tried to gain some distance.

Then she had a horrible realization. They were back in the main room. She looked to her right and saw Poco and Bibi laughing together, their body as pristine as when they left. She shakily turned to her left afraid of what she would see. She was happy to find Penny clutching her head while Emz checked her nose for any blood.

"Nita and El Primo have completed Robo Rumble."

Primo landed like a superhero, Nita jumping off his back and landing on all four limbs. "That was awesome let's do it again!"

Primo laughed with the crazy kid. He had a few cuts from trading blows with the boss, but the girl wouldn't let him help with most of the smaller bots. "Yes, we will do this again someday." Primo looked over the remaining students, "Well done boys and girls. You made it."

Penny finally rose from her groggy state beside Emz. She noticed that there were fewer students around them, "Where are the others?"

Primo ignored her question, "Now I hope you all enjoyed your little prizes for a job well done."

"Umm… Mr. Primo?" Jessie chimed in, "Where are the other students?" The students started to chatter amongst themselves as they started to worry about their friends.

"I am very proud of all of you. Given a conflict you couldn't prepare for you rose to the challenge."

"HEY!" Bibi stepped up to the plate walking up to the larger man. She put her bat to Primo's chin, his unwavering smile still bright even under her threat. "Where are our friends." The air grew stale as the question sat in the air. Primo didn't blink, he didn't flinch, he just smiled down at the brash batter.

Leon backed her up, "You said those robots were shooting to kill." He pulled out four razor blades, "Where are the other students?"

Primo heard a gun click behind him, Shelly put the warm tip of her shotgun barrel against his back. Brock loaded his rocket launcher while Jessie placed S.C.R.A.P.P.Y down beside her. All the students converged on his position awaiting his response.

Primo laughed at the bravery of his students, "You kids honestly believe you can scare me?" Carl gulped at the calm in his voice. "I am a professional. One of the best brawlers in all of Brawltopia. My feats of strength, speed, and endurance outclass all the other legends you have ever heard of." He gripped Bibi's bat, the metal bent under his grip. "When I picked your group, I wanted to see how strong you were. What better way to test your strength… than by taking you all on?"

The students all readied themselves for a fight. Penny dropping another mortar beside her while Emz started shaking her spray cans. Jacky hopped on her jackhammer slowly approaching the wrestler. Nita bared her fangs as she summoned her bear familiar.

Primo took notice of the ridiculous number of students around him. Even he wouldn't be able to beat them all… if he held back. He closed his eyes tight as he started to cackle. He relinquished his grip on Bibi's bat as he curled in on himself. His veins starting to bulge out his skin as his body seemed to grow.

He stood taller than before, perhaps only by an inch or two, but he grew none the less. When he smiled, it was no longer that cocky grin that he sported everywhere he went. His teeth seemed sharp like a beast in the wilderness. His eyes… soulless black holes with blood-red pupils in the middle.

The students stepped away as they witnessed his transformation. He was not the same man as before; it was like he transformed into a demon before their eyes. Bibi and Jacky were at the front of the attack, Poco standing behind them as a healer for the fight. Even with Poco and the rest of the students watching their backs; they were scared. For the first time in all their time fighting off punks on the streets and brutes throughout the school; they were scared.

Primo took a step forward, slamming the ground with his foot. A dent forming in the metal beneath him. Most of the ranged students fell backward at the spectacle. Shelly, who was originally holding Primo at gunpoint, was frozen in place. She could feel an intense heat radiating off his body. His blood boiling like an inferno. She could only think of one phrase to describe his new form…

"El Diablo…"

Primo looked at the students one by one. Most showed fear, others apprehension. As he turned around to look for more faces, he was surprised to see a giant bear standing over him. Riding its shoulders was the angry scowl of Nita, her face showing no signs of fear. "Where… Are… My… Friends?"

Primo burst into laughter at the child's iron will. His body relaxing as his mood calmed down. His veins disappeared under his skin as his eyes returned to their usual white color. His teeth returning to normal while he put on a bright smile. The students relaxed as his body returned to normal, but the tension was still in the air. "Your friends are alive." Primo turned back to Bibi. He showed no signs of worry about the giant beast standing behind him, "The robots were programmed to shoot to kill. But they weren't programmed to kill. Does that make sense?" The students relaxed at the explanation. Penny cursed Primo under her breath for not properly explaining the situation. "The ones that failed to defend the safe failed the test. The ones that sacrificed themselves to complete their objectives didn't get A's, but they didn't fail either. You can visit all your friends in the infirmary when you leave."

The students finally felt their nerves calm as the tension in the air died. "Now about your rewards…" The students got nervous there would be a catch, "You can spend the money however you want, but I would recommend you do your research on those notes. They are important hints about what we'll be doing next class." Primo clapped his hands twice, the lights around them shutting off for a few seconds. When they came back to life there was a note in the dent Primo left on the floor. The students searched the barren room but found no sight of his location.

Bibi walked up to the paper, frustrated with what she saw, "It says 'Class Dismissed'."

"Whatta Nutcase…" Jacky deadpanned as she made her way towards the locker rooms. "I need a shower." The students started cracking their aching bones as the adrenaline finally wore off, the pain from their battles hitting them all at once.

Leon started to walk away from the group. He placed his hand on his back popping stiff joints in his spine. He had this strange feeling someone was watching him. When he turned around all the other students were just interacting with each other. No one seemed to be paying him any attention. He looked back towards the locker. He never noticed the shadowy figure hiding just behind him. He scratched the top of his head, the shadow mimicking his movements.

Just as he tried to move forward the shadow jumped onto his back wrapping its smooth white arms around his neck. A tuff of pink hair falling into his vision as he collapsed under its weight. "You thought you could get away?" Leon froze at the horsed voice in his ear. He peeked around his hoodie to see the lust-filled eyes of Penny. Her tongue out as she breathed on his cheeks. "I worked so hard today…" she put her hand against his chin, turning his face to meet hers. She couldn't see past his mouth, but something told him that was all she wanted to see, "I think I earned a reward… my cute chameleon."

Leon ripped his face out of her grip, "Umm… d-didn't you already get those gems."

"Oh Leon… I have so many coins on my ship I use it for ammo. That was just a nice gift… I want a reward. Something… sweet," Penny bit at Leon's sucker pulling it from his mouth. She rolled her tongue around the cherry flavor sucker as she teased the pinned boy. Leon was so startled by the predicament that he swore he saw Penny's pupils shift into bright pink hearts.

Leon looked towards the other students, one of them had to see his current situation and want to help. As he looked to a large group of students he saw most of them turning a blind eye to him. He watched in horror as more students looked away from the attack. His eyes met Poco's as he silently pleaded for help. Poco's head was wrapped up by Bibi in another noogie as she led him to locker rooms. Poco looked back at him, shrugging his shoulders.

He left him alone. Leon watched as some students walked clean past them, choosing to ignore or snicker as they watched Leon squirm under the pirate princess. As more people left them alone Leon realized the horror of his situation, he was a fly trapped in Penny's web. He felt Penny squeeze tighter, taking a deep whiff around the neck of his hoodie. "You smell so nice, even after fighting for your life." She tightened her grip and dug deeper into his neck, "I want this smell stuck in my nose."

Leon felt her deceptive strength constricting his ribcage, crushing his already damaged lungs. He coughed up some blood as she tightened again. When Penny opened her eyes and saw his pained expression, she instantly released her hold. "I'm sorry. Did I squeeze too hard?"

Leon felt the air rushing to his lungs, his mind running a million miles an hour as he thought up an escape plan. He jumped to his feet flipping upside down as he looked at Penny. Her eyes were soft and filled with regret at the thought of hurting Leon. He wanted to show he was okay, but he didn't want to deal with another attack. "Invisibility!" he clapped his fists together, a smoke cloud appearing around him.

When the smoke cleared Penny searched the metal room looking for a sign of where he went. She didn't expect him to fake an injury just to escape her but she was happy to see he was okay. Her eyes scanned every inch of the gym, a stray shift in lighting, a ball rolling for no reason, anything that would show Leon's presence. She found her answer when the boys' locker room door crept open without anyone touching it. Penny smiled brightly, "I'll be waiting for you Leon~" she called ahead as she made her way inside the girls' locker room. Inside most of the girls were getting ready to shower or just getting out. Emz was wrapping her hair before she got in next, when she noticed the aloof smile on Penny's face, she couldn't help but smile back. "Girl, you go lala for Leon."

"At least I'm not scared to tell my crush I like him." Emz stuck her tongue out in response.

"Nita get your butt back in that shower!" Bibi called from the bathrooms. Penny and Emz watched as a bar of soap and a shower stool crashed against the wall leading into the bathrooms.

"You can't bathe the mighty Nita! No one can!"

"Damnit where the hell is Jessie!?" Jacky peeked around the corner looking at Emz and Penny. They both shrugged their shoulders at her sudden disappearance.

While their interaction was starting the door to one of the elevators opened without anyone standing in front of it. As the doors closed Leon strapped into the seats preparing for the intense ride back to the ground level. When the g-forces settled, and he made it to his stop he took a seat at a nearby bench as he clenched his heart.

That boss's punch seemed to mess him up something different. His chest felt like it was caving in.

"You should see the doctor."

Leon jumped at the disembodied voice. When he looked up, he saw Jessie standing beside him with a water bottle in hand. "How did you-"

"When I saw Penny tackle ya I figured you would skip on showering in the locker rooms to avoid getting caught by her again." She offered him her drink, the boy hesitating before reluctantly taking the water with a quiet thank you. Jessie watched with interest as he slowly sipped the water. He didn't finish it like how he crushed the water during their test. Then she noticed something stranger, "Where's your lollipop?"

Leon touched his lips as he remembered the attack, "Penny took it." Jessie giggled at the statement, "That's funny?"

"Sorry, it's just… whenever you two interact… it's cute."

"…cute. That's a word for it."

Jessie played with her pigtails. The two had skipped out on freshening up after their battles and now they were alone together once again. The hallways were empty, and she figured it would be sometime before any of their classmates would come through the elevator. "So… are you sure you don't… not like her?"

Leon blew a tired breath, "It's like I said. I don't not like her, she's just too intense." Leon felt the pain from his stomach start to flare up. His mind flew on autopilot as his words flowed like unfiltered water, "Honestly… I wish she acted more like you."

Jessie's face shifted through several shades of red, "W-What!?"

Leon stood up not understanding what he said, "I think I'm gonna take your advice… head to the doctors." He tossed the water back into her hands, smiling down at the smaller girl. "See ya later Jess." Leon put both his hands in his pockets as he slowly walked out the crystal-clear glass doors.

"Buh… bye…" Jessie sat on the bench as his words started to register in her mind. She looked down at the bottle. There still was some water sitting in the bottom. She looked to where Leon made his exit. She checked the elevators and the hallways for any signs of bystanders. When she saw she was alone she unscrewed the water bottle. The top glistening in the light leaking from the sun and the bulbs around her.

Her heart was racing as she tried to process what she was doing, why she was doing it. What being had possessed her to perform such a brash action? Then she stopped fighting this feeling and drunk the remainder of the drink within the plastic bottle.

As the cool feeling of the water rushed down her throat she only said one word…

"…Cherry…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tired. Not of writing. I love writing and have much more planned. It's just 4:00 AM as I finally completed editing and uploading this final chapter. Allow me to explain something. Before I begin writing any chapters of my stories I write the outline for all the chapters leading up to the first major plot development or to the end of the story depending on the story size. For Fighter's Story, I do until the next major plot point. For Raton, I have already written the outline for all the planned five chapters.
> 
> The outline for chapter 2 ended up being chapters 2, 3, and 4 that you just finished reading. I would like to apologize. I said this story would be short but I just can't write simple. I love complexity, layers are my favorite thing to work on. So while this story was expected to only be 5 chapters long, all future updates will be of varying size. The size of the updates will depend on how long it takes me to transcribe my written outlines into a cohesive story.
> 
> Now that I got that off my chest, I hope you enjoyed. If you did leave a review about what you liked and favorite/follow my story and other works. If you did not, tell me why. I love critiques.
> 
> Thank you for reading another one of...
> 
> Sammy's Silly Scripts.


	5. Spectator Mode

"Come on Penny… You can't still be mad about yesterday, right?" Jessie's red pigtails danced in the wind as she walked beside the rest of her friends. Emz was absently checking her phone while Nita rode on Penny's back.

"I can and I am. What you did was mutiny!" Penny's rage had subsided with time. Currently, she didn't want to throw Jessie overboard but a few days in the brig would do her some good.

"How was I supposed to know you wanted to team with Leon yesterday?"

"I want to team with Leon everyday… I just decided to do it today." Penny and Jessie were like the north and south poles. While both might be known for housing cute penguins and sweet seals. They are also known for housing vicious polar bears and gigantic orcas. Then once you think you understood all the secrets hidden within them you'll find more interesting creatures hidden deep below the surface.

Currently, the beasts residing in Penny were attacking the cute creatures Jessie housed on her surface. The girls continued their back and forth. Jessie saying that she wouldn't have teamed with him if she knew. Penny saying that she shouldn't have teamed with him at all. "I wouldn't have to team with him if Nita didn't abandon me," Jessie attempted to save herself.

The three girls turned to the tiny terror, "You're just mad I got to team with Mr. Primo." They would have questioned her more but the sound of a low grumble behind Penny's head took their attention.

Penny turned to Jessie, "You're lucky Nita's insatiable hunger saved you."

Emz spoke up next, "Well we got some time before our next classes. Barley's?"

"NO! Barley's food's weak. I want a juicy burger!" The girls entertained Nita's outburst by listing off nearby burger joints. As they continued to walk, penny felt a cool liquid on her cap, Nita's drool flowing like thick water on her head.

"Ye scurvy dog keep it in ye mouth," Nita pointed to Penny's right. The girls saw Shelly, Max, and Piper with giant burgers in their hands. Nita jumped off Penny's shoulders rushing to the Hispanic girl.

"Where you get that?" Nita jumped into Shelly's face. Her head just barely reaching the taller girl's yellow neck bandana. Shelly smiled down at the girl before pointing towards a nearby food truck. The girls noticed a line leading into the courtyard.

Jessie saw that most people walking away were sitting at the picnic tables awaiting their orders. "Okay Nita, you wanna wait for-" she looked to Shelly but Nita was gone, "Nita?"

"What are you waiting for!" They saw Nita at the back of the line waving them down, "Get in line!"

While in the line Penny observed their target. The truck was a black hole sucking in all the light around it. Atop the truck was a metallic sign, colored in red and blue neon. "Buck's Burger Cart?" she turned to the others, "You ever heard of this place?"

"Who cares," Nita jumped in, "I want meat!" Her mouth was oozing saliva as she watched another group walk away with burgers in hand. When they got within range of the front stand, they noticed a short man with a black, skull-patterned bandana across his head.

When he turned around, they saw his large black beak. A big slash mark across the top forming an 'X' on his mouth. He didn't look happy to take the orders, but they could hear him thanking all the people that came. "NEXT!" he bellowed in a deep voice. Penny and Nita were the first to walk up, Penny standing on her right with Nita jumping up to hang off the counter. Emz stood beside Nita with Jessie on her left. The birdman smiled when he saw them, "Well look who we have here, The Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse." He looked at each girl from left to right, "Conquest… Famine… Plague… and War." His voice was low and brooding, but his tone was joyful and intrigued, "How y'all girl's doing?"

"What's up Crow," Emz cooed as she high-fived the dark bird. Crow patted Nita on the head as Penny leaned over the counter.

"It be unwise to go around working for other companies. What if Bull were to find out?"

Crow chuckled at the comment. "This whole place was Bull's idea. Extra business means extra money. Besides, it gives him something to do." He waved them forward to look within the truck. Inside they saw a large white arcade machine. It was standing over the stove with a little water forming on its blue L.E.D screen. They watched as it pulled out a spatula and flipped all the burgers on the stove with an assassin's speed.

Jessie spoke up, "Since when did 8-Bit know how to cook."

"Some kid dropped his ZS Cooking Papa cartridge in his coin slot a few days ago. He's been cooking behind the scenes for the past three nights." The girls kept watching as the backdoor opened showing Brock with a bright white apron on.

The young black boy called to 8-Bit for some orders before rushing out with his hands full of plates. The girls giggled as he rushed from table to table delivering orders. Emz turned to Crow, "Does Bibi know you're here?

"Don't tell her. Bull put that Buck sign up to throw her off our scent. I'm making money while I'm here, but my main goal is to keep an eye on her."

Penny scoffed at the concept, "You protecting Bibi, I'm sure she doesn't need any protection."

Crow snickered, "My job ain't to protect her from a fight. I'm supposed to knock the skull of any douche that tries to get close to her." The girls were confused, that sounded like a job for Bull. "Considering the fact that Bull is a near 7-foot giant with a shining gold nose ring. We figured I was a better choice for the job."

Jessie was perplexed, "But aren't you an anthropomorphic bird person?"

The group fell silent as they all looked to Crow. 8-Bit stopped grilling as he awaited his response. Even the people in line were intrigued by his logic. Crow sniffed the air in frustration, "I don't have all day, either order or get out of line."

The girls placed their orders for four burgers. Emz's without cheese and Nita's with everything on it. When they made it to their seats they began to converse about the sciences behind 8-Bit's new abilities. Jessie arguing that merely intaking a game cartridge couldn't be enough to give him cooking abilities. Emz stating that he wasn't programmed to be a sentient robot, he gained sentience after a freak accident.

Their conversation shifted with time, evolving into their usual subject. Classes. Penny groaning at the mention. "It's not fair."

"Like, what are you upset about now?"

"You get so many classes with all your friends. What are the chances that you would be in Nita's class again for music?" Jessie tuned them out while she checked for Brock bringing their food.

"Really? Is that the problem?" Emz turned her nose up to mock her friend, "I think you're just jealous that I get to be in class with Leon." Jessie snapped back towards her friends.

"Ugh it's not fair," Penny's head was resting against the table. Her cheeks smooshing against the wooden table and her pink hair pooling on the sides, "Why are the luck gods on your side."

Jessie could feel her smile getting brighter, her face felt warmer. She cleared her throat before speaking up, "I'm sure Emz doesn't care about Leon. She's more interested in TA Poco."

Emz stared off into the sky, her mind imagining the wonderful day she was going to have. She absentmindedly played with one of her bandages while Brock arrived with their food. Nita screeched in glee at the size of her meal. The tiny girl practically unlatching her jaw just to fit the monstrous burger in her mouth. Penny and Emz found solace in their conversation now in their own world.

Jessie's mind was running a million miles an hour. She turned to Nita, her voice a low whisper only she could hear, "How old is your music teacher?"

Nita answered through a stuffed mouth, "I dunno, super old though. Her glasses make her eyes huge." She giggled with the last statement.

"Interesting. I don't have any classes today… think you could sneak me in?"

"Yeah sure… there's a door in the back that a lot of people stand near. You can sneak in through there."

Jessie thanked her as she finally began her meal. When the group finished they started for their next classes. Penny making her way to Chemistry while Emz and Nita went to Music for Dummies, Jessie following close behind.

"Umm… like what are you doing?" Emz stared inquisitively at Jessie.

She thought up an excuse on her feet, "I was just heading for the library." She lied through her teeth. Emz looked at their path. It was believable.

Nita didn't understand, "But you said-"

Jessie covered her mouth, a bright smile on her face, "Just wanted to walk halfway with you." She dipped down to Nita's ear, "Remember to leave the door unlocked." She patted Nita on the head twice, a sign they made to say, 'Keep it a secret.'

As Jessie walked ahead Emz leaned into Nita, "What did she say?"

Nita thought of this as a game. "She just wants to know how you'll act around Poco today?" All of Emz's thoughts were turned to mush at the thought of getting to spend an hour with Poco. She didn't even notice when Jessie started following just a few feet behind them.

* * *

Peterson's School of Arts. The eccentric home of the more artistically inclined students. An older looking building but still functional and updated to function seamlessly with the rest of the campus. The halls paved with fine wooden flooring, older white painted brick walls, and cozy smaller classrooms for that personal touch.

"Come on! Let's go! Move, move!" Max was rushing down the halls. Running back and forth from one side to the other like a red and yellow blur. Behind her moving like an energetic sloth was a young brown skin boy. His body wrapped in pink and purple cloths.

"I'm coming… I'm coming," the boy said between yawns. His voice was soft like he just woke up. Max rushed back to his side. Her eyes seeming to vibrate as she moved.

"We're gonna be late! If we don't go now, we're gonna miss the first assignment."

"That doesn't sound so bad." The boy smiled as he took a seat on a nearby bench. Max sat beside him, her feet bouncing on the ground as she waited for him to move.

Her patience was running thin but she knew how to get him going. She pulled out one of her signature drinks, a red container with a yellow top and bottom. The sign of a lightning bolt on the outside showing its purpose. She offered the drink to him the boy kindly declining as he started to close his eyes. "Come on… I know you're thirsty from all that walking!"

"I know your game, Max. I'm not drinking that."

"Come on Sandy, I promised to help you get to class. We're almost there!" she looked down the hall. At the end was a cracked open door, the light leaking from it like a ray of sunshine.

Sandy continued to refuse the drink enjoying his rest on the surprisingly comfortable bench. Max looked down at her drink, she didn't know how to get the sleepy boy moving. Then the sound of a huge baritone blasted through the hallways. The body-shaking sound startling Max and only slightly jostling Sandy.

Max lost her grip on her can. Time slowed down as she watched it crash against the floor the liquids inside spraying out in all directions. Sandy put a lazy hand up to block the liquid, but it sprayed out all over him. The walls were splattered as well turning the vicinity green.

The two sat there in the green liquid registering what just happened. Then as soon as the liquid appeared, it evaporated. Seeping into their skin and the walls around them. Their molecules started to vibrate faster, Max's smile getting wider. She turned to Sandy his eyes seeming to finally come to life. Max jumped up to her feet, "I'll race ya there!"

She dashed forward slicing the wind along her path. She flew down the hall in a blink of an eye touching the door to their class. "FIRST!" she cheered. She turned around expecting Sandy to be rushing behind her, but he was nowhere to be seen. Running back down the hall she saw Sandy fast asleep on the bench. Beside him was a piece of folded paper with a pencil sitting beside it. 'When'd he have the time?' she thought to herself.

She gawked at the contents within. It read, 'All you did was make me lazy faster.' A little smiley face was drawn in the corner.

* * *

Inside the band room were forty oddball kids all making noise but little music. Within the baritone section were several larger boys and one tiny girl with a bear pelt headdress. Nita sat in the middle of these boys attempting to match the notes of her section members.

At the front of the room was Emz. Her cold, dead lips blowing a cool breeze into her flute as she warmed up for the day. Her eyes were distracted from the book in front of her and drawn to the bright smile of Poco floating from person to person. She could hear his sweet voice as he encouraged the struggling students. Showing proper positioning for their hands and demonstrating (to the best of his abilities) how to play certain notes.

In the back behind the deeper instruments, sitting against the farthest wall from the front door was the percussion section. The sound of their rattling drums filling the room as they warmed up their sticks. Sitting at the front with a snare drum around his neck was Leon. He was the leader of his section and it showed with how he seemed more confident amongst the crowd.

At the back of the room, a bunch of cases sat against the backdoor. The sound of them shifting muffled by the chaos of the pre-class warmups.

Poco's phone rang through the noise, the yellow skeleton excusing himself as he left the room for a second. Emz followed him the entire way out the door, a blue blush across her cheeks the entire time. As she followed Poco's yellow frame she noticed a pair of red pigtails hugging the wall. She walked over to Nita, the miniature monster getting progressively angrier with her instrument by the second.

"*pst* Nita…" she didn't turn around but acknowledge her presence. "What's Jessie doing here?"

"I dunno… something about being bored. Guess she thought this would be fun, but this sucks!" Nita was starting to physically fight her brass instrument at this point.

She was initially confused, when she asked her earlier Jessie lied saying she was heading for the library. There was no reason for her to withhold information like that. As her mind continued to process Jessie's reasoning, she blew it off as just being nervous. She found it funny. To think the goody-two-shoes Jessie would break the rules like this. They must have been rubbing off on her.

From the main door came a sheepish Poco, his movements hesitant as he seemed to look for the proper words to say. Emz thought about asking him what was wrong but was too shy to approach. She didn't want to ruin his thought process with her presence.

He cleared his throat before speaking, "Everyone! I have some bad news." The students waited on baited breaths as he continued, "Mrs. Boscovich can't make it to class today." The students' mood was lifted by the news. Many shouting 'free day' and 'no class' as they celebrated. Poco felt bad about what he would say next, "Which is why… I will be teaching class today."

The class fell silent. The students looking at one another for a moment before cheering even louder. Poco was taken aback at the response. One of the more muscular tuba players standing up to say, "I see this as an absolute win."

Poco slowly walked to the front of the room. The cheers of his classmates were flattering. Emz wanted to go to his side so he could physically see her cheering as well but felt her heart begin to palpitate at the thought of being the center of his attention. Poco walked into the teacher's office, the sounds of the student's excitement fueling his actions.

When he returned, he had a giant stack of sheet music in his hands, passing them out to each section. "Now this should be secret between us. Mrs. Boscovich wasn't going to show you this song until next week, but I think the best practice is experience." The students graciously accepted the music, breaking off into separate groups as they practiced the new piece.

Emz's eyes were focused on Poco at the front of the room. Her section mates (a group of teenage girls) teased her as they grabbed her attention to focus on practicing. While she tried the new piece (a slower song with many half and quarter notes of varying pitches) she noticed the other classmates working in their sections. More specifically, she noticed her friends.

Nita was currently growling at her paper as she tried to play the notes presented to her. Her section mates tried to assist her the best they could, but she was starting to let her rage absorb her thoughts. However, she didn't take notice of Leon in the back. The hooded boy leading the percussion section as they seamlessly played the beat for the beginning of the song. A simple beat like a person's rapid steps or a horse trotting. Behind them stood Jessie, the girl rocking along as her pigtails swayed with her movements.

The drumline finished their first attempt, Leon putting his sticks to the side as he stretched his arms. He started conversating with a nearby member until he noticed them staring off to his side. "What's wrong?"

"Great Job!"

Leon's hair stood on end at the high-pitched voice. Turning to see Jessie was a relief, the smaller girl smiling fondly up to him. When he heard the sudden voice, he thought Penny had found his class. "Umm… Thanks, Jessie," he looked around the room checking for any pink hair. Satisfied to see her not here, he continued talking to Jessie, "Why are you here?"

"Oh… you know… just bored, thought it would be fun to hear Nita play the baritone" she lied through her teeth. The two looked to Nita as she continued to fight the music.

"Well, I'm sure it's more fun with Nita. Why aren't you with her?"

Jessie threw her hands behind her back, her smile sincere but her fingers twitching. She could see under his hood with her lack of height. His left eye seeming to shine under his chameleon hoodie's felt tongue. It was mesmerizing, "O-Oh… yeah… I just… umm… Really like percussion?"

Leon stood still as he watched her. She could feel her smile start to wobble, her feet fidgeting under her stance. She couldn't fully see his eyes or the top of his face, but she could feel his intense stare. A feeling she wanted to keep forever. "Well if you like the drums so much," Leon passed his sticks to her, "Wanna give it a try."

Jessie pointed to herself to be sure he was serious. Leon and the other drummers nearby laughed as they goaded her to try playing the snare. He set up his stand to make it easier for her to play. Jessie nervously took the stick, the percussionists around her watching intently for her to drop a beat.

When she first hit the rim, the feeling of the sharp kevlar snapping beneath the wooden stick was surprising. It didn't scare her, just the feeling of the material popping was strange. The other members pressed her to keep going. The beat she made was simple. Something a middle schooler could make with just a pencil on their desk.

One of the other snare drummers started rocking to the beat, picking up her drum to add some complexity to the tune. Next came the cymbal players. The sound of their light crashes and half notes giving the tune a bit of airy wonder. As Jessie continued, she watched in awe as the entire percussion section joined into the song. Rocking the room with their beats and waves. When they finished some of the deeper brass instrument players cheered before continuing their practice.

Leon stepped up behind her, "Not bad… Hope you don't mind if I take over?" Jessie passed the sticks back to him, standing a little to the side out of their way. "You don't have to hide on the walls… Poco's teaching today." Jessie looked around as she noticed Poco floating from person to person assisting with the current song.

When she looked back to Leon, he was patting the left side of his leg. Jessie took it as a signal to stand beside him sheepishly joining him at his side. Some of the other percussionists took notice of her blushing face and nervous demeanor, snickering silently to themselves. They straightened up when Leon called their attention, "Alright let's finish this song from the top!"

As the percussion section continued to play behind them, the flute section focused on getting a grasp of their parts. Emz was sitting in the middle focused on her flute. She wanted to show Poco that she wasn't just another face in the class. She wanted to find something to connect with him. If music was the way to his heart, then she was going to pierce his soul with her performance.

When they finished their section, the other players complimented each other while critiquing their mistakes. Just as Emz was able to fully focus on her group another voice joins in behind them, "That was really well done Emz."

Her body locked up at the sound. She could feel the cold blood rushing through her decayed veins as she slowly turned around. Behind her, his smile as white snow was Poco. Her cold heart grew warmer with his presence, "I didn't know you had such passion for the flute."

"She has a passion for something…" one of her section mates snickered.

Emz turned to scold the girls but Poco drew closer to her face, "Tell me… What did you find so fascinating about the flute?" Emz stumbled over herself trying to find words but Poco pushed the advantage. "Was it the subtle sounds that escape the tiny instrument?" He got a little closer, "Maybe it was the high-pitched squeals that can lead any song." She could feel his cool breath on her face, the faint smell of peppermints escaping between his teeth.

Emz's cold blue blood was rushing to her head. Her words fumbling over themselves. She tried her best to respond to his question, the first answer being that she wanted to get closer to him. She threw the idea away realizing how ridiculous it sounded. Her mind rushing to find a correct answer to his sudden questioning.

As her mind overloaded her body shut down around her. She was a mental puddle of goo while she swayed back and forth with a goofy smile. Her section mates (feeling sorry for their friend) saved her from the interaction. They pulled her to the side away from him, explaining that she's just tired from working so hard.

Poco shrugs his shoulders as he encourages her to keep up the great work. "You're doing amazing, Emz!" he said with a thumbs up before being called over by another student.

When he left their section, the girls fanned her face while snapping their fingers to gain her attention. Her eyes refocused as he walked away, "I just like how small the flute is…" she blurted out.

The girls all patted her on the back, "So close…" one spoke up. "You were so close…"

Emz felt mildly frustrated by her failed interaction. She didn't know why she froze like that whenever he got close. Fawning over him from a distance was so easy but whenever he got close all her logic seemed to evaporate into the air. She slowly took a peek at Poco's new location. He was talking to someone in the alto saxophone section.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed the black pompadour atop her head. The dark purple jacket covering her signature light pink undershirt. The distinct sound of gum popping coming from her mouth. Emz watched with intrigue as Poco assisted Bibi on the saxophone.

She knew the two were friends but something about their interactions made her nervous. Her and Leon could always be found somewhere near Poco, but recently she seemed to be interacting with him more personally.

She watched with envious eyes as she calmly talked with him about her issue. Poco gladly taking the time to explain everything necessary with ease. She wished she had that kind of self-control when talking to him. She looked away at her flute, her face barely visible in the reflection. 'Why am I like this?'

She let out an exasperated breath before looking back at the duo. Her heart dropping at the scene. Poco had Bibi wrapped in his grip from behind, his yellow skeletal palms guiding her rough knuckles to the proper positions. Emz could feel a green pigment fill her pupils as she watched the two interact.

Emz could feel her teeth lightly grind as she watched Bibi smile up to him. The skeleton seeming to stare a second too long down at her. Emz was ready to jump out of her seat. She didn't know why she felt this way. When they worked together during Combat Training, she was just jealous, now she felt an otherworldly rage.

Her bandmates grabbed her attention, beckoning for her to perform the piece with them once again. Against her better judgment, Emz turned away from the pair. As she continued to play her part, she kept an ear out for any strange noises amongst the chaos within the room.

She heard a soft giggle through the swarm of noise. She moved her flute from her mouth snapping in the direction of Bibi and Poco. She felt her blood boil when she saw Poco with his hat off. He was trying to cover his face from Bibi while she laughed up at him. Emz could see a goofy grin across his face. What looked like sweat forming across his head.

Emz clenched her flute, the sound of the smaller metal bars bending under her grip. Her other classmates calming her down as they pulled her flute from her claws. As Emz started to regain control, she was led to the storage closet so they could inspect any damage done to her instrument.

While her classmate attended to her instrument, Emz's mind went into overdrive. Denial was the only thing that felt safe. There was no way she saw what she thought. Her eyes must have been tricking her. 'Poco wasn't blushing, he was just sneezing. Yeah, just a harmless sneeze. It's probably dusty near the back of the room.' Emz started to lightly chuckle behind her friend. A contorted smile across her face.

Her classmate decided it best to ignore her estranged actions. She didn't pay attention to how strange she looked; she was still deep in thought. 'I bet if I turn around, Poco won't even be anywhere near her.'

Emz took a deep breath, putting on her best happy face before turning around. She saw Bibi on the far left playing her saxophone alongside her section mates. She scanned the crowd for Poco's yellow skin, finding him attempting to calm down an enraged Nita.

Emz watched as she stood atop her chair with her baritone raised above her head. Her fangs showing as she growled at the boys trying to reign her in. Emz's mood grew warmer at the sight. Her mind calming down as she watched her friend terrorize her crush. It was nice to see something normal after such a weird situation.

She laughed to herself at the idea of something like that being normal. As she made her way back to her section, her eyes wandered to the percussion section. She was interested in the beat they were making, the sound coming from their section far more complex than any piece they had been given in class. Directly beside Leon, hovering close to his side was Jessie, rocking along to the beat.

Jessie talking to Leon wasn't that strange, but her movements and demeanor seemed off. Emz thought to herself, 'She better be careful. Penny might get jealous.' As she sat down again, she saw his section finish their piece. Jessie slinking out from beside him to stand in front of his face. She would have kept watching but was pulled away by her section members starting to play again.

Meanwhile, Leon was deep in conversation with Jessie, "So what do ya think of our personal project?"

"You came up with that yourself?"

Leon motioned to the other members, "We… came up with that ourselves. Most of us used to play in my home village. We figured it would be fun to take the class when we came to Rantō."

Jessie's eyes sparkled like stars, "You're outstanding. You could be professionals."

Leon threw his hands in his hoodie pockets, "Stop. You're embarrassing us." The two laughed together as his section mates looked on from the sidelines. Leon couldn't hear their snickers; he was thinking about Jessie.

'This is nice. Having a girl besides my family that I can just talk to. No fear of being attacked, no intimidation from their size, just a good friend. It's nice to have a friend that is a female I can casually talk to.'

Leon coughed lightly, an itchy feeling filling his throat. Jessie reacted instinctually, turning her backpack to her front and rummaging around for an item. She swiftly pulled out a water bottle, the cap's seal untampered. She presented it to Leon, the boy smiling at her kind gesture, "Do you just keep water bottles everywhere you go?"

Jessie shrugged her shoulders, "Gotta stay hydrated, right?"

Leon ruffled her hat-covered hair as he took the bottle. Beneath his hood, his eyes were closed while he partook in the drink. While he wasn't looking, Jessie held her head softly. A faint blush appearing across her cheeks as she could still feel his touch. She wanted him to touch her again.

Leon blew a satisfied breath, "Thanks, Jess." He passed the capped bottle back to her, the redhead staring at the bottle's top for a second before focusing on him. "So…" he pointed his sticks to her, "wanna try again?"

Jessie threw her hands up, "Oh no… I-I'm fine. I like listening to you more." Jessie froze with her eyes wide open at her statement, "I mean you all! Y'all! I like listening to y'all!" She nervously chuckled at the rough save.

Leon just laughed warmly at her mistake, "No problem. Hope we can entertain ya."

Within the flute section, Emz finished her part and decided to search for Poco again. She found him making his way past the other percussionists stopping beside Leon as the two conversed. She always found their dynamic entertaining. The very open and outgoing Poco that felt no social anxieties seeming to take the introverted Leon under his wing. With time she and Penny noticed Leon evolve from staying under his hood to openly talking to people every day. At least, openly talking to anyone but Penny.

Emz's couldn't wait for the day the two finally got together. In her eyes, they were the perfect match. The bold and brash Penny with not a single fear in the world would be able to get Leon out of his shell. On the other hand, Leon would be able to show Penny the value of staying quiet about your opinions and the benefits of a more reserved personality.

"They're gonna be so totes cute together," she said aloud.

One of her section mates responded, "I agree."

Emz turned around, surprised by the response, "You know about Penny and Leon?"

"Is that her name? She doesn't look like a Penny."

"What do you mean?"

"Well it's just… the red-hair you know?"

"Red hair?"

Her classmates pointed to the percussion section. "Your talking about the red-head that's been hugging Leon all class, right?"

Emz looked back at Leon and Jessie. The mechanic standing beside him while he talked to Poco. Her hands tightly wrapped around a water bottle. Emz burst into laughter at the statement, "You must be confused. She doesn't like him, they're just friends." The other girls in the section turned to each other. Their faces showing their disagreement.

"Maybe he sees her as a friend, but she defiantly is thinking otherwise."

Emz snapped back to Jessie then her group, "Your, like, literally not making any sense."

The girls all slyly pointed in the percussion section's direction, "Take a good look at her." Emz watched Jessie carefully, "Do you see the way she's holding that bottle?"

Emz nodded her head as another girl continued, "You didn't see it, but while we were playing, she offered him that bottle of water. She hasn't loosened her grip since he gave it back."

Emz thought about the statement, "That's not much. She might just be nervous about being in a different class. She's a total goody-two-shoes."

The girls snickered at her statement, "Okay sure let's say that she's just nervous. Then explain how she's acting." Emz cocked her head as they refocused on Jessie, "Look at what she's staring at." Emz saw Jessie's face pointed upwards to Poco and Leon, but her eyes were staring intently at the bottle, "Now look at her chest. You see how it's heaving up and down. Can you see her smile?"

Emz was confused by the question. She looked normal from their distance, "Look closer. I think you've seen that smile before. I think you've even made that same face a lot."

As Emz inspected her closely, she noticed the edges of her mouth curved higher than the rest. Her fingers circling the rim of the top. Emz saw in her eyes an image she only saw when Penny stared at Leon. The image of their faces appearing beside one another.

The image of love. The image of lust.

Emz started to feel worried as she watched the girl continue to stare longingly at the bottle. Jessie slowly wrapping her hand around the top as she screwed it loose. The top of the bottle seeming to give off a faint glint while Jessie's breaths became heavier. Emz could see the condensation from her mouth forming on the bottle. Her mouth opening wider as she slowly brought the bottle to her lips.

Then just when she would have taken a sip the sound of a nearby bass drum bellowing through the room startled her out of her trance. She quickly screwed the top back on before putting the water away. Her hands patting her face as she threw back on her usual fun-loving face.

One of Emz's section mates cooed, "She almost broke for a second there."

"Yeah, it was looking pretty sketch for a minute. She's got it under control though," another chimed in.

"Either way… to answer your question Emz. Yes, they are gonna be cute together."

Emz didn't respond. She just stood there, staring at Jessie. Her mind remembering how she grabbed Leon as her partner yesterday. The scared expression across her face when Penny confronted her. The apologetic voice she used when she asked for forgiveness.

'Was it all a lie? Was Penny, right? Is Jessie trying to steal Leon?' These questions flooded her mind as she tried to understand the events that transpired. She couldn't begin to comprehend such a situation. The only thing she could think of doing was doubting. 'I didn't see any of that. It's just like with Bibi. I'm just seeing things. I'll turn back around, and Jessie will be hanging out with Nita.' She peeked over her shoulder, praying that she would be right again. Instead, she saw Jessie, glued to Leon's side, and him just accepting her company. 'OMG, it's real!'

Emz tried her best to calm her shocked nerves. The rest of the class was a blur. She went through the motions of practice and rehearsing their song. Her eyes wandering between more locations than she could handle. Her mind trying its best to come to a conclusion about the events that happened within the room.

As the class ended, she found herself running on autopilot. Her body seeming to shamble towards Nita without her guidance. As the tiny girl placed her baritone in its large case, Emz surveyed the room.

She found Poco at the front door, her mind finally giving her body a pinch of dopamine to relieve the stress. As soon as she relaxed, she tensed back up at the sight of Bibi wrapping Poco's head in a hug. Squishing him against her chest. Poco tried to pull away but her grip was too strong. He eventually accepted his fate and walked out the door with his head in her vice-like arms.

Emz's mind seemed to turn off at the sight. She turned away from the door only to get an eye full of green and red. Hugging onto Leon's side was Jessie. The older boy had a small smile on his face while he patted her head. She was starting to recognize it now. Leon was just being friendly and accepting of the younger girl. Jessie was acting like a lovesick puppy.

Leon coughed again, causing Jessie to whip out the same bottle she had given him during class. Emz watched on in horror as Leon thanked her for the drink, not finishing it but slurping as much as he pleased. When he went to put the drink down Jessie reached out to tell him she would throw it away.

Leon was visually thankful for her kindness tossing the drink to her. As he picked up his drum's case, he made his way towards Nita and Emz, "Yo Nita… you looked like you were having fun." Leon and Nita conversed about her little outrage but Emz blocked the two out. She watched in awe as Jessie skipped out the front door. An aloof grin on her face while her pigtails bounced like springs in the air. "Yo Emz… you good?"

Emz focused on him, shaking the disbelief from her face, "Yeah just, like, tired."

Leon looked around the room before leaning in close, "Hey, Penny isn't gonna jump me when I leave the room, right?"

Emz was amused, "Don't worry. She doesn't have any plans to get you today."

"Cool," he said with a relieved voice, "Nita. Wanna grab a bite to eat before we head back to the dorms?"

"I want another cheeseburger!"

"Another? Where'd you get the first?" Leon and Nita walked out of the room talking about their meals for the afternoon. Emz stood in the middle of the room. All the other students had cleared out. She was alone with her thoughts.

"WTF just happened?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on the next couple of chapters in between work, school, and my social life. Hope you enjoyed another one of...  
> Sammy's Silly Scripts


	6. The Reason for the Seasons

"And Penny is setting up for her last-ditch shot. The score is a narrow 3-2 with Jessie getting ahead early and holding her lead with authority. If Penny misses this shot, her opponent could take a two-point lead giving her a distinct advantage in this first to five-set."

"Avast ye fleet-footed landlubber. I'm focusing." Penny sat her face down close to the table. Her right index finger balancing the paper football on its tip. Ahead she saw her goal, the fingers of Jessie positioned up like a goalpost.

"Come on Penny. Wait any longer and I'm calling delay of game." Jessie sat with a smug grin as Max snickered alongside her. The girls had woken up extra early today. Partially from excitement but mostly because of the explosion that rocked Jessie's room and the neighbors beside her. The two girls grabbing breakfast and joining Max on her morning jog but in their case a campus-wide sprint.

Currently, Penny had on her usual clothing, but she swapped out the blue and white stripes for a bright pink tee shirt with a black bunny caricature across her front. The bunny had a disgruntled look on its face with bright red eyes and a dingy brown bandage around its right ear.

Jessie's hair was still pinned up in her long red pigtails. But instead of her usual junker attire, she wore a bright red and yellow crew jacket. Her hat a matching red and yellow with a small lightning bolt in the middle of her head. Her color scheme made Max proud.

Speaking of the speedster, she had ditched her usual superhero-inspired attire for more street-appropriate clothing. Her usual red and yellow onesie discarded for a sporty red jacket with a yellow hood. Her usual helmet with its blue visors now switched out for a red hat with a matching lightning bolt, much like Jessie's. She was tossing a pair of sharp glasses in the air while she swayed her body back and forth to the music playing from the TV. Her spandex purple shorts attracting the eyes of boys and girls alike as they passed by the window.

"Seriously just take the shot already," Jessie was getting tired of waiting.

Penny mumbled something under her breath as she lined up her left finger. Max decided to start commentating again, her voice lower as she held her excitement. "This is the make or break moment folks. The battle of the brains here today… And Penny's lining up the shot… And~"

Just before she could flick her finger the common's door bursts open, "What's up BITCHES!" Penny flinched from Jacky's sudden entrance, her finger plucking the paper football off its path. Jessie burst into laughter as Penny flew into a rage.

"Bilge-sucking! Lily-livered! Ye scallywag! You ruined me shot!" Penny raised a vengeful fist at Jacky as she walked in. Her face full of confusion as Max explained the situation between staggered laughter, Jacky joining in as she apologized for the distraction.

Jessie picked up the paper football, smiling towards Penny as she aimed. "Come on Penny let's finish this." As the girls finished up their game Emz slowly made her way into the common's room. She took some time to inspect the random students watching TV and playing games on the tables against the wall. Her eyes fell on Penny, her bright pink hair blending with the bright shirt she was wearing. Beside her was their friend and her secret rival, Jessie.

Emz watched as Jessie and Max cheered after she successfully flicked the paper football between Penny's fingers. The girls laughing at Penny's frustrated grimace before they all started laughing together. She couldn't fully process the image, not after the things she saw yesterday.

She remembered laying up last night while Penny was sawing logs in her sleep. The undead beauty wrapped in her midnight black sheets as she tried to analyze her situation. How was she supposed to tell Penny what she saw? Most people would have run to her and screeched out everything they witnessed. Emz knew this situation was a bit more delicate. The group of girls were best friends, ever since grade school when they first ran across each other they had gelled together like siblings. They knew everything about each other; favorite foods, biggest fears, darkest desires. Now the secret feelings of one could destroy the entire group.

While Emz stood against the wall deep in thought Jessie walked up to check on her friend. "What's wrong Emz?"

She flinched with Jessie's sudden proximity, her sweet eyes and content smile throwing her off. Penny approached next; her face was more worried than Jessie's.

"You didn't get up this morning from Jessie's screw up." Jessie voiced her disagreement with the statement, saying that Nita was the one that played with her equipment last night. Penny ignored her to focus on her distraught roommate.

Emz's mind was trying to think up a response. She still wasn't ready to make any final decisions; she didn't want to tell Penny something wrong. The worst thing she could do was tell her something without proof. "Umm… I'm just feeling sick."

The three girls stared in awe, "You're sick?" Penny asked.

"Yep."

Jessie spoke up, "But… I thought you couldn't get sick?"

"Like, what made you think that?"

"Your cells live in a constant state of frigid cold and subtle warmth. Such an unnatural balance that your body could never contract a disease or illness that would not die within minutes from the lack of heat in your body. How did you get sick?"

Emz stood with her lips puckered at the analysis. The other girls looking to her for an explanation. "I guess it's some new virus. Or maybe I just have a head cold?" she tried to laugh off her very weak defense.

Most of the girls just looked at her with confusion. Max, however, saw the opportunity and took her shot, "Head cold? Isn't your head always cold?"

All the girls in the room groaned at the cheesy statement. Most playfully scolding Max as they dispersed from the room. Penny hung back with Emz and Jessie, "If you aren't feeling good today don't push yourself. Take a break class ain't till two."

"Yeah and if you still aren't feeling good before two, we'll just tell Primo you can't make it." Jessie said with a sincere smile, "I'm sure he'll let you off the hook."

Emz thanked the girls for understanding her dilemma. She said her goodbyes as they made their way out of the common room. While they were walking away the two girls conversed about their achievements from the last class's challenge. "So Emz and me are just back to back taking on the whole filthy horde of 'em. The whole time we were laughing like two banshees that just trapped a group of horny sailors." Jessie burst into laughter at the comparison. The thought of Emz and Penny losing their control and letting their sinister sides out was entertaining. Penny looked down at Jessie with hungry eyes, "Now tell me… I'm still mad at ye for taking Leon on your challenge. But what was he like?"

"What do you mean?"

Penny's face was flush as she tried to explain her question, "Like how did he handle the horde? The boss bot, did he take it head-on or lead it around? When I got my hands on him after class his hoodie had tiny tears in it." Her skin shivered as she remembered the smooth flesh he housed under his hoodie. The knicks and scrapes from his battle giving him a manly feeling, "What happened?"

Jessie looked off to the side as she thought about the challenge, "He was… brave. And a natural leader when it counted. I could see that when we were fighting the boss he was scared… but he just kept taking shots for me the whole fight." Jessie looked down to the ground, her cheeks warm from the thoughts of that day, "He was like a knight in lime green armor."

Penny swooned at the thought, "I knew he was a natural leader. He hides behind those insecurities but really he's a humble hero."

Jessie heard the phrase, her mind thinking up a question that her ears needed an answer to. "Hey Penny, I never really asked but… why do you like Leon?"

"Like him… I love Leon!" The girls made their way outside as Penny stared up at the wispy clouds peppering the sky. "Back on the ship. All the guys are hard asses. They don't show any emotion that isn't pride or rage. The one thing that is constant with them is their lust for money and woman." Penny looked back down. To their right was a couple sitting on a blanket enjoying a meal under a tree. "When I was a wee lass I wandered into Darryl's cabin and rummaged through his belongings for a toy to play with. Or a few coins to pocket, whichever I found first."

Jessie followed close behind, listening as she seemed to talk to herself now.

"Then I stumbled across a strange book with a golden bird against a black background."

"The Hunger Games?"

"That's the one. I had never had a book before. The only words I was taught to read at that point were the pirate's code and legends of different maps we found along our routes. So, to say it took me a while to finish the book is an understatement. But damn was that book good."

"Wait I'm confused. How did The Hunger Games make you fall in love with Leon?"

"Peeta… he was the first guy I ever heard of being sensitive. Then I read him saving Katniss from those elitists. And how he chose to hide and preserve his life instead of thinking that dying in a fight was a greater pleasure than running. He was just so different. I'd never seen a guy like that before. I guess it was his strange behavior that I got attracted to. That and how he was willing to sacrifice himself just to be with Katniss. No member of the crew would sacrifice himself for a woman."

Jessie mentally corrected her statement about Peeta sacrificing himself for Katniss. Remembering the book made it clear that it was to fight the government, but she digressed. "Except for Darryl and Tick, right?"

"Well of course, but I'm not just some woman to them. I'm practically their daughter."

"Right… so… you fell in love with Leon… because he reminds you of Peeta?"

Penny blushed at the question, "Is it that weird?"

Jessie thought about it for a second, "I wouldn't know. Remember," she tapped her brain with her finger, "Mind too bright to be distracted by boys."

Penny cackled, "You keep saying that, but I think you're hiding something. You gotta have a boy somewhere that you can't stop looking at."

Jessie threw a smug grin her way, "Nope not a single boy, nor girl, nor creature on this planet that can take my attention off my work."

"Yeah, yeah. We'll see how long that lasts for." The two girls enjoyed each other's company. The mistake from Tuesday like water under the bridge as they made their way to their next classes.

* * *

"So based on this we can see that the rare Zuclorian Pythansis is one of the most deadly creatures to mankind and should be avoided at all cost." The teacher stood at the front of the classroom with a pink plant sitting on the table beside her. It reached as high as her torso from the ground up. While the students listened intently to the muscular teacher the plant turned to face her. The thorns around its petals seeming to shift in her direction. She didn't look back at the plant she was focused on explaining the safety precautions for interactions with the creature.

The plant's petals morphed into a sinister grin as it looked for her throat. The students screamed at the teacher as the plant dove down for an attack. Without taking her attention off the class, the teacher reached out with her green-gloved hand. Her powerful grip holding the plant by its stem at the base of the bulb. She turned around to face the plant, her eyes closed behind her small glasses. She smiled at the plant before using her free hand to repeatedly punch it back down into its pot.

The class clapped as she bowed, a few leaves falling from her large puff of hair. She gave her final instructions in her motherly British accent, "Now it's your turn to give it a try. Be careful of its thorns."

The students went up and grabbed their plants, working together in groups of two on each specimen. Sitting in the middle row on the far left was Jessie, the technician currently doodling mindlessly on a piece of paper. She was humming a sweet tune to herself, her lips popping and tongue clicking as she mimicked the beat she heard yesterday.

"Whatcha' Drawin'?" Jessie quickly threw her left hand over the paper, shielding it from her classmate's eyes. Above her stood Bea, the short girl hoisting the impressively large plant onto the table. "Sorry for intruding."

"Oh… no, it's fine." Jessie tried to think up a way to dispose of her drawing.

"You know… you don't have to hide it from me. I'm not gonna judge you." Jessie shook her head as she started blushing at the thought of showing her work. Bea's eyes grew softer as a teasing smile graced her lips, "It's a boy isn't it."

Jessie panicked, "NO!"

Bea tried to suppress her laughter, "Oh my. What happened to 'A mind too great to be distracted by boys'?"

"It's… different…"

Bea pushed the plant aside as she focused on her similarly statured friend, "How so?"

"He's just… really sweet… like candy. But he's also… deadly… like a gun." Bea was on the edge of her seat. "He has this cute balance between a confident hero and a shy sweetheart. And his eyes… god those eyes. I always get lost in them."

"So what… he's just really cute?"

"No… I'm not shallow. He's also really nice to me. He always gives me compliments. Telling me that I'm cute. How smart I am. He even protects me from dangerous fights. He's like my knight in shining armor."

Bea was getting excited listening to her gush about this guy, "Well is he interested in you?"

"I dunno. When I first started feeling something for him, we were talking about another girl that likes him."

"Wait… he likes another girl?"

Jessie realized the red flags she threw up, "No! No. He doesn't like the girl back. He told me himself. Then he started listing off things he likes about me more than her." Jessie tugged on her pigtails as she heard herself talk. She had developed feelings for her friend's crush. It felt so wrong, but her feelings felt so right.

"Then don't wait." Jessie stared up at Bea. "Take it from me. I don't look it, but I know a thing or two about forbidden love. To long to hold someone so far out of my reach." She stared at the front of the class. The teacher assisting with taming one of the wilder plants the students acquired. "If this guy doesn't love that other girl. And you really like him. Tell him how you feel. It'd be a lot worse if you just held your feelings inside."

Jessie flicked the edge of the paper, "But what if he doesn't see me in the same light."

"Guys aren't that complex. Women that play with their emotions always like to say that they are heartless and don't care about us. Honestly, most guys just want a normal girl. She doesn't need to be drop-dead gorgeous, she doesn't need to be a model, and she doesn't have to be some overly endowed cow. She just needs to be honest and loving." She followed the teacher's path to the other side of the room, "Though some people like their mates a bit… stronger." She shook her head as she refocused on Jessie, "My point is, you're cute. Bloody adorable even, and if he had the confidence to say all that to you, he thinks you're pretty amazing."

Jessie watched out the corner of her eye as Bea traced their teacher's path with her eyes. She took her arm off the drawing, a crude image of a girl with red pigtails holding the hands of a boy with a lime green hoodie on. 'Yeah, I should follow my heart for once.' She traced her finger across Leon's face imagining his emerald eyes brightly shining down on her. In the corner of the picture, she noticed an extra drawing sticking out from under her arm.

When she moved her hand, she saw a drawing of a girl's face. Her eyes riddled with tears as she watched Jessie and Leon together. Jessie's heart froze when she noticed the short pink hair sticking out from beneath her blue skull cap. 'When did I draw that?' She started to feel nervous looking back to Bea to make sure she didn't see. She quickly moved for her backpack hoping to hide the picture away from Bea's curious eyes.

As she took one final look at her drawing, she felt her heart flutter. The image of Penny watching on in tears making her strangely happy. Bea's words running through her mind, 'follow your heart'. 'Don't let anyone stop you.'

Jessie smiled down at the picture, her eyes filling with a dangerous lust as she imagined the future. A life where she was happily cuddling with Leon in his room, Penny sitting with Emz as they dream of being with their crushes. Her face contorted into a sinister smirk, and her pupils morphed as she made her final decision, "I won't let anyone stand in my way."

* * *

"I don't think… it's supposed to stretch that far."

"You've just never tried something this hard."

"Please… go slow."

"No promises." Penny pulled back on Jessie's arm as she heard a joint pop loose. Jessie groaned in pain at the extraneous exercise.

"I said go slow, I've never done this stretch before."

"Aye you be doing great. Doesn't your arm feel looser?"

Jessie rolled her shoulder, "It feels too loose."

"Aye! That means it worked." Penny laughed down at her mechanically inclined friend. "You need to be extra loose for today. We don't know what Primo has in store."

Jessie was stumped by her statement, "What do ya mean? He told us already."

Penny was unsure what she meant. Before she could ask a weight crashed into her back. Nita dropped down to the floor, "What's up!"

"Aye matey! You were almost late. What took you so long?"

"Me and Leon grabbed something to eat before we got here!" Penny and Jessie turned in the direction Nita came from, seeing Leon slink into a crowd of students with Poco and Bibi close behind. "He said, 'Hey'," she said in a Leon impression.

Both girls perked up, "Really?!"

Penny turned to Jessie with a glare, "The hell you getting excited for?"

Jessie stammered out a response, "I'm just so excited for you. That's all."

"Actually, he told me to say, 'hey to them'. So, I guess he meant Emz too. Where is she?"

Penny answered, "She said she wasn't feeling good today. Now back to you," she pointed down at Jessie. The smaller girl shaking at the coming altercation, "What do you mean Primo told us what we're doing today?"

Jessie sighed with relief, "The hint. Remember the hint. It said it's all about that bolt economics."

The two girls were stumped by her hint. Jessie would have explained further but the lights went out announcing Primo's arrival. When they came back on Primo slammed the ground from above causing the floor to crumble beneath his force. "Hello and Welcome to another day of?"

"ADVANCED COMBAT TRAINING!"

"Maravilloso! Now I've learned from last class that our numbers are often skewed. So how many students are here today."

Penny raised her hand, "Fifteen. Emz is taking a sick day."

"Glorious! That makes the perfect number for today's class." Primo pulled out his strange remote pressing a button in the direction of the furthest wall. They watched as the wall shifted revealing an opening passageway. Primo walked ahead without a word. He turned back in confusion at the stone-faced students, "Well what are you waiting for? Vamonos!"

The students trudged along into the dark hallway. The echoing sounds of their staggered footsteps filling the empty hall. The excitement jumping between the students filling the empty hall. The dark blue lights lining the walls glowing brighter as they reached a giant metal door. Primo walked up to a small LED keypad pressing a few buttons as the doors whirred to life.

When they fully opened the students took notice of the bright lights and flashing buttons sitting against a large windowpane. Penny and some other students walked up to the control panel, some growing curious about the effects the different levers and switches would have. The others looking out into the dark void that they saw behind the glass.

"Don't touch anything. Wouldn't want to break the equipment." Primo stepped past the students, looking over the panel before pressing the image of a red and blue robot. The ground beneath the students vibrated as the window seemed to open up. They watched as an old junkyard seem to form before their eyes. The students saw several stone walls with patches of grass appearing around the field.

The icing on the cake was two large metal structures standing tall at each end of the opening. A yellow hard hat sitting on each building's roof with a large funnel and a giant gun's barrel sticking out the top. Bibi spoke up, "Primo, what is this?"

"Students. Say hello to today's assignment. This… is Siege!"

The students watched as floodlights filled the arena, lighting up the orange and red brick and mortar. Primo pressed a few extra buttons on the panel causing the walls to open up. Three jet black chairs with strange headsets dangling above each seat appeared on both sides. Primo gathered their attention, "I would like you to all assemble into teams of three." The students shifted around in their pile as they assembled their teams, "Also, give your teams a name. It's good for morale."

The students continued to shift around until they came together into five groups of three. The first team comprised of Rico, Piper, and Sandy. They gave themselves the title, 'Long Dreamers'. The next team to form was Shelly, Brock, and Max. They called their team, 'Speedy Beating'. Joining them at their side was Carl, Jacky, and Bea. The group cleverly naming themselves, 'The Painiacs'.

The final two teams consisted of Leon, Poco, and Bibi; called the Semi-Slambulance. And finally Penny, Jessie, and Nita; the three girls naming themselves Pet Power. Primo applauded his students for their creative names and combinations. He asked them all to spread out as he began to explain the rules.

"Siege and destroy the enemy's IKE assembly turret!" he began with a deep narrator's voice. "Your team also has an IKE: feed it bolts, and it will assemble a powerful Siege Robot to fight for you. Bolts appear randomly around the middle of the map. Grab a bolt and hold it for a few seconds to (magically) feed it to your IKE."

Primo pointed to the ominous seats as he used a more casual voice. Or as casual as Primo could be, "Now those seats have specially made headsets that will transport your consciousness into a holographic version of yourself that will compete within the arena."

Rico raised his free hand, "What about robots like me and Carl?"

Primo walked up to the closest chairs, "As you can see there are special wires made for all of you that can connect to your internal programming." Primo looked over the students, "So… who's first?" The students jumped up and down as they begged to be first in the ring. Primo looked them over as he made his decision, "Give me Speedy Beating and Semi-Slambulance."

The aforementioned teams gladly hopped into the seats as they waited for further instructions. Primo grew a wicked grin as he pressed a button on the console. The seats grew metal restraints as they clamped down on the students. The headsets slamming onto their heads as a bright light flashed from each of their skulls. Some of the students grew worried for their safety, it wasn't the first time Primo threw them into a dangerous situation without warning. They watched as the students calmed down and slowly fell asleep in their seats.

Primo walked up to the window, "Now it's gonna take a second for them to spawn into the map. While we wait…" he wheeled in a whiteboard from a random side room. He wrote down the two teams' names with a bowl under each, "Wanna place some bets?"


	7. The Surface

The bright lights illuminating the arena were the first senses he gained access to. After that, he remembered his location. His predicament.

Leon looked to his left as a bright white circle formed beside him. Slowly materializing from thin air was the dark purple jacket and black jeans of Bibi. The neon-punk rock girl took to her surroundings quickly as she locked eyes with Leon. He saw her eyes wobble while her fingers flexed but her body refused to move.

"The hell's going on?!" she asked with a frustrated tone.

Leon was going to respond but a voice chimed in from behind, "Relax Bibi. We're probably just waiting for Primo to start the match." Leon turned to see Poco with his guitar in hand and a patient smile on his face. They all looked around as they processed their current location. On both sides of their turret were bushes with clay walls behind them. From Leon's position in the middle, he could see more bushes on the far right and left. No one could see past the large wall directly in front of their IKE Turret.

Leon watched as Bibi's arms flexed, her knuckles growing white around her bat. "Primo! What's taking so long?!"

The sound of static and coughing rung through the arena, "Hello? Ehem! Yes, sorry, how's everyone doing?" Bibi growled at his nonchalant banter. "Now I will only say this once. There are up to three sieges during each match. The team that collects more bolts at the start of each siege-"

"Shut up already! How many times you gonna say the same shit!?"

Primo pushed the mic away from his mouth. Inside of their skybox, he turned to the other students with a smile. "I like her." He brought the mic back to his face, "Yes of course Bibi. You must be eager to start the match."

Bibi was practically foaming at the mouth as she listened to his smart remarks. Poco tried to run damage control, "Calm down. We need to stay focused."

"Ah yes of course," Primo began, "Your classmates are watching everything, Max." The sound of several students cheering rang through the arena.

"So, they can hear everything we say, but we can't hear the enemy team," Leon deduced through Primo's statement.

"Don't worry we are looking after your bodies… Jessie, Nita, Penny! Get away from him!" Leon felt a chill run down his back. "So, you just focus on your match. Oh, as a final note, your holograms have been given the special ability to communicate with each other no matter the distance. So, use that to your advantage." Primo pressed a button on his panel, "Ready?"

Leon and Poco looked to each other, a silent agreement made with their eyes. When they looked at Bibi, they realized she was not on the same page. "Bibi," Leon spoke up, "You with us?"

"3!"

Bibi turned to them confused, "Whadya mean?"

Poco decided to take the lead, "We are going against Shelly, Max, and Brock. They have us beat in range and damage."

"2!"

"We need to form a plan of attack."

"I already have a plan."

"1!"

"Attack!"

"Go!" they felt their bodies loosen as they rushed forward. The two boys watched as Bibi darted ahead, her focus on winning, not planning. Poco followed behind while Leon made his way to the far right. Bibi and Leon were usually similar in speed, but with her star power (Home Run) Bibi flew into the distance. Arriving in the middle of the map just before the enemy team.

"25 seconds before the first siege!" Primo called over the intercom.

Bibi saw the first bolt, picking it up without any confrontation. She was going to hold it in her hand but the bolt began to levitate around her head. "Cool…"

"Get Down!"

Bibi looked back at Poco. His warnings falling on deaf ears as she tried to understand his fears. To her right, she saw Max trying to make a push for the middle. Leon had her surpassed matching her range but her damage defiantly a little more effective with the distance. Just as she was going to turn back to Poco she heard the bushes ahead of her shifting.

From the grass, she was greeted by the barrel of Shelly's shotgun. "Hola~" The feeling of the hot lead entering her chest was shocking. A white-hot pain she hadn't experienced in years. However, the healing sounds of Poco's Da Capo attack kept her stable. She reached as far back as she could and swung with malicious intent.

Shelly was sent flying back into range of her IKE turret, leaving Bibi on critical health as Poco tried to top her off. "Try a little harder next time spice rack," she taunted. Bibi watched as the bolt she collected floated away from her.

"Oh by the way." Primo chimed in, "Since you are holograms killing each other is completely legal. I even let you keep your nervous system so that you could properly react to a threat."

Just as Primo said this Poco attempted to play another note to help Bibi out. He watched in horror as a rocket collided with her chest, exploding into a puff of smoke. A small circle of fire was the only thing left of her, "Bibi?"

"So, your saying…" Brock turned a corner. A small smile on his face as he turned up a dial on his boombox, "I don't have to hold back?"

El Primo smiled in the skybox, he looked to his students, "Who'd like to do the honors?"

Jacky stepped up to the microphone, "Shoot to fucking kill!"

Brock flicked his shades on, "Turning up the boombox!"

Brock let another rocket fly forcing Poco to hide behind the wall to his left. Shelly, seeing the advantage, took over the middle of the field. "Leon, we got a problem!"

"Yeah~, I bet I can show you a bigger one."

Poco looked in his direction as he watched two bolts float from Max's head over to their IKE turret. "Oh… crap baskets."

"Aaaaannnnndddd that's a level 2 Siege Bot for Speedy Beating!" Primo called over the intercom. The sound of mixed responses to the first victory for Speedy Beating rung through the arena.

Poco and Leon converged on the center-right side of the map. Directly on the edge of their IKE turrets range. "Where's Bibi?" Leon asked.

His answer was provided by the sound of scraping metal. They both turned around as they saw Bibi walking towards them. Her eyes were hidden under the shadows cast by her pompadour. They could see her mouth, but even that didn't show any emotion. Instead, they sensed it.

Her rage.

"cowards…" she whispered before smashing her bat against the ground. "Hiding in bushes, waiting for your girlfriend to do all the hard work."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Brock called from the left.

"I'm…" she clenched her bat. "I'm…" she gritted her teeth. She finally showed her eyes. They looked extra sharp in each corner like she could cut diamonds with her stare. "Watashi wa anata no zugaikotsu o haretsu sa semasu!" (私はあなたの頭蓋骨を破裂させます)

She ran full tilt forward; all sense of reason had been thrown away in her mind. All she wanted, was revenge. Just before she made it to the main fight Poco jumped in her way. Stopping her in her tracks, "Down girl… you can bust their skulls later, first…" he pointed ahead of them.

Making its way down the middle of the map was a giant robot the likes of that giant boss bot they fought just two days ago. The only difference being the spiked gloves replaced with the normal gloves of a professional boxer.

"Help us bust that."

As the three members of Semi-Slambulance tried to think up a plan they watched as another bolt floated away from Brock's body. Poco kept a mental count of the score, 1 bolt each, and a giant bot heading their way.

Poco took over as the leader, "Leon, hold off Brock. We can't let his incendiary ammo hit our turret." Leon nodded before rushing off to the left. The sound of explosions plus metal crashing could be heard in the distance. "Bibi… hide behind that wall," he pointed to the large wall in the middle of their IKE's range.

"No way! I'm not some coward like them!"

"Don't think of it as cowardly… think of it as… defensive combat?"

"Defense is a coward's combat."

The IKE turret started firing volleys over their heads. Signaling the giant Siege robot's proximity. Poco was getting frustrated, "Damnit! Listen to me or I won't heal your explosive ass!"

Bibi was taken aback. Leon (overhearing the outburst through their holographic link) was taken aback. Everyone sitting in the skybox that heard his outburst was taken aback. If Emz were here, she would have lost all self-control at the scene.

Bibi stood still for a second, processing the statement. She turned away from him, pouting out of his vision, "Fine…"

Poco felt a little calmer. Finally, she was listening to reason. He turned around as he tried to think up what to do next. His thoughts were cut off by the massive fists of the enemy Siege robot. The gargantuan gloves knocking him on his butt. Bibi called out to see if he was okay, but Poco was paying more attention to the enemies.

Behind the Siege robot, he saw Max and Shelly with sinister smiles. Shelly speaking up first, "Now that you're done with your little breakdown, how bout we break you?"

Poco looked to Bibi, "Bust their skulls!"

Bibi, with a ghastly grin, came from behind the wall with lightning-quick speed. Before the two girls could react to her appearance, she slammed them and the giant robot away from their IKE turret.

Max and Shelly were stunned for a second, but their plan was undeterred. Max pulled out one of her energy drinks, using the new trick she learned in the hallway with Sandy, she smashed the drink against the ground. The green liquid soaked into Shelly and her skin, speeding them up to blinding speeds. "Let's Go!"

The duo rushed forward, ready to finish the IKE turret off in a single attack. But they didn't plan for one thing. Max's drinks didn't work on the siege robot. The two girls rushed forward blindly, by the time they noticed their mistake it was too late. Max was the first, running directly into Bibi's bat face first. She could feel her nose break just before the IKE turret erased her from the field. Shelly, seeing her mistake, began to backpedal. It was already too late though; the IKE turret was able to land a shot on her. The damage just enough to weaken her for Poco's mediocre damage, but very impressive range. The last feeling she remembered was the tiny teeth of his living music biting away at her flesh.

Bibi and Poco had a mini celebration before they remembered the overarching threat. The giant siege robot now closing in on their IKE. "Bibi! Spitball!" Bibi stood to the left of the IKE lining up a shot. She took a deep breath, using every ounce of oxygen in her lungs to blow a massive pink ball of bubblegum. She lined it up as the bot started to wail on the IKE turret. With a stance a major league batter would be proud of, she batted the ball towards the robot. The gum piercing through the robot as it bounced off the wall. The ball rebounding as the damage stacked up.

The spectators watched on as the ball seemed to be chipping away at the bot's exterior. Piper turned to Bea, "Tell me darling… what is that gum made of?"

"Beats me. When we met, she always had it. Something about, Japanese engineering being the finest in the world."

On the battlefield, Poco and Bibi were trying to stop the bot before it could do any more damage, "Leon!"

The silent assassin turned around leaving Brock to his own devices. The combo of damage from Bibi's bubble, with Leon's super sharp spinner blades, Poco's sentient songs, and the IKE's raw power ripped the bot to shreds. The three brawlers, taking a collective breath of fresh air, turned back to the main fight.

Leon with his superior speed was the first to make it to the frontlines. And instantly ate three rockets right to the teeth. The sound of Leon's pained scream was like torture to Penny and Jessie's ears. Penny ripped the mic from Primo's hand, "I'll fucking kill you, Twinkle Toes!"

"Hey… gimme back that mic!" The sound of Primo and Penny struggling could be heard in the background. When he regained control of the mic he made his announcement, "Very well done by Semi-Slambulance! That was a wonderful defense but now the fight for bolts begins again. 45 seconds are on the clock. Who's gonna get the next Siege bot?"

Primo felt a tug on his arm. He turned to see Jessie at his side, "Umm… Mr. El Primo sir?" Primo felt his heart melt at her adorable blue eyes. "I meant to ask you… what does I.K.E. stand for?"

"Oh well, that's easy." He had his eyes closed as he crouched down to her level, a warm smile on his face. He revealed his bright white eyes with a sinister smirk to match his next words, "I Kill Everything~" The students all backed away from their haunting teacher. Jessie just fearfully thanked him as he returned to his console. "Oh, I almost forgot the scoreboard."

He pressed a few buttons causing a hologram to appear above the arena in several locations. The translucent images showed the amount of time remaining in the match and between each siege. The readings also showed the health of each respective IKE turret. The blue IKE showed a health reading of 100% while the red team had 79% left.

While the students and Primo had their interaction high above the action Bibi and Poco had taken over the middle. During the rush for mid Bibi suffered heavy artillery fire from Brock and Max. She learned her lesson from last time and decided to avoid standing directly in front of Speedy Beating's grass in the middle.

Poco's constant healing and impressive range kept her attack uncontested in the middle. Shelly's constant advances being snuffed out by the serenading skeleton. Max was able to charge up another speed boost gifting Brock some necessary speed to cover the distance. While most of the action took place on the left, Leon took over the right uncontested hoping to bank some bolts for their next siege.

Bibi took notice of the double push from Max and Brock opting to retreat closer to her side of the map. Her absence from the middle gave Shelly the opening she wanted. Instead of staying in the middle, Max and Brock ran past her deciding to use their impressive range to take over the mid and stunt Semi-Slambulance's bolt gain. Shelly was left alone with Bibi on the left in a stalemate. Neither wishing to overextend and give up control of the left side's bolts.

With control of the middle firmly in Speedy Beating's possession, their bolt gain started to skyrocket. The bolts were tied at 5 all with both teams now playing very carefully in hopes of snagging a lucky spawn before the timer ran out. They all were frustrated when they saw the spawning circle appear on the right between Leon and Max.

In a last-ditch effort, Leon looked to Poco. "Cover me!" He rushed forward fast as he could towards the final bolt. Max saw his push and matched him in intensity.

The two fastest fighters (without the help of abilities) met in the middle trading blows. Max fired several lasers from her wrist launcher which Leon pushed to the side with his forearm. The assassin pulled out four blades, aiming for her chest but the girl quickly jumped over his head.

They both threw a wild punch that missed its mark, their backs now facing the opponent's spawn. Leon felt his body ignite as one of Brock's rockets collided with his back. The fire that was left beneath his feet was like firecrackers in his legs. Max nailed him with four direct hits from a single burst of her launcher. Just before she could finish him off a wave of notes ripped and tore at her body. The secondary effect of the music tapped Leon off just enough to stay in the fight.

He quickly turned to her with four blades burying into her chest as Poco refused to relent. Meanwhile, Leon began to combo dodging Brock while attacking Max in a perfect balance of offense and defense. Max didn't stand a chance with the combined might falling to Leon in seconds.

Leon quickly swooped up the last bolt. He tried to retreat to Poco but was obliterated by a stray rocket from Brock.

Jessie took the mic this time, "You're walking on thin ice, Dosey Doe!"

Penny stood behind her with her arms crossed. A dark glint in her eyes, "You're really loving this match huh?"

Jessie nervously chuckled at the slip-up. Politely nodding her head as she backed away from the console. Primo snatched the mic from the two girls, "Where's the respect for your elders? EHEM! And that is a tie! A tie means no Siege robot for this round. 45 more seconds on the clock! Who's gonna win it all?"

Poco, hearing the declaration, made another attempt at taking control over the mid. His short rush to the bolt was dangerous but he was able to fake Brock out and dodge a few rockets. On the left Bibi and Shelly's stalemate began to turn into a slugfest.

As Shelly grew tired of Bibi's cover, she tried to run around the outside of the map to get to her. Thanks to Bibi's impressive speed with her Home Run star power she flew past the middle without Brock even having time to react. Shelly was frustrated, enraged even. Without a second thought, Shelly loaded up her golden slugs and obliterated the wall between her and Bibi. The power of her Super Shell star power slowing her down substantially. However, in her rage, she failed to realize their positioning. The power of her Super Shell destroyed the walls and grass that her team used for cover in the middle.

She rushed forward to finish Bibi off but was blasted backward by her impressive swing. She rushed towards the right, Poco seeing this tried to pincer Brock with her but he slipped behind a wall into the range of his IKE.

On the blue team spawn, Max was coming back to life. "Okay. Once was reasonable. But twice!? I am not gonna die twice and lose when Brock and Poco haven't even died once!" She slammed her energy drink on the ground in rage. The adrenaline rush from her speed boost combined with her newfound rage was causing her body to shift into overdrive.

She used their ability to communicate from any distance to relay her plan. "I'm running back right now. I'm way faster than Leon could dream of being. We move in now while he's gone, and we finish this match!"

Shelly and Brock voiced their agreement as they pushed for the middle. To their surprise, Bibi and Poco didn't back down. Instead, they screamed right back at them. The duo didn't show an ounce of fear. They charged in matching their aggression.

In the skybox, the students cheered for their respective teams. Nita jumping on Penny's shoulders shouting, "I put 100 gems on you! You better not lose!"

As the action played out in slow-motion Bibi could be heard roaring between her battle cries, "Bring it on! It's 3v3, Anata baka! (あなたバカ)"

Shelly broke out into hysterics, "3v3?! You must suck at math! It's 3v2!"

"No…" the feeling of cold steel sinking into her back caused her mind to go numb. The cold heartless voice behind her woke her up shortly, "You're just missing a variable."

In a cloud of smoke, Leon appeared from behind. Shelly crashed to the floor in a heap disappearing from Leon's destructive damage. With his sudden appearance, Brock and Max focused their firepower on him. The short-statured boy would have crumbled under their combined effort had it not been for another clutch Encore from Poco.

The duo turned back around as the green wave washed over them. They were greeted by the sadistic smile of Bibi and her metallic companion she deemed Mr. Bat.

"Kon'nichiwa" With an unrelenting strike, she smashed both of their faces inward. Poco was able to finish off Max with Leon's help causing her to disappear in a cloud of smoke. All that was left was Brock. Groveling on the ground as he realized his fate. "You haven't died once this entire match. I wanna make your death special." Bibi put the barrel of her bat against his chin, "Which of your legs do you like more?"

"B-Both?"

Bibi dropped her bat across both of his knees at the same time, shattering them and bending the legs in the opposite direction. "Wrong answer…" Brock screeched in pain as he felt his mind grow numb. "Huh… not dead yet? Hey Leon, he killed you twice right? Got any personal frustrations you need to let out?"

Leon pulled out four blades in each hand, "Less than you think… more than you know."

The rest of the students and Primo watched as the Semi-Slambulance slowly finished their biggest problem off. Brock's pained screaming filled the room as the sound of rending flesh churned their stomachs. Bea noticed how Rico and Carl seemed unfazed by the brutality. She figured it was due to their programming, but it brought up another question.

"Umm… Ricochet?"

He snapped his head in her direction. His singular eye shifted from its normal oval to an upside-down smile, "Please call me Rico."

"Right, Rico. Umm… does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?"

"Seeing robots being used for our combat? Our training? I mean… we kinda just… sacrifice their lives for our own personal gain. Doesn't that… grind your gears? No pun intended."

Rico looked back to the action. In the arena Bibi and Leon were rushing back and forth, gathering as many bolts as they could. Rico didn't look phased as he gave his response, "They were programmed to serve you…" he looked back to Bea. "I was programmed to surpass you."

Carl peeked his head from behind him, "Affirmative."

Primo was amazed by the personalities these students hid behind their facades. As he remembered the horrors he witnessed in the arena, he wished they kept some of them hidden. The fanfare of the siege bot spawning regained his focus. "Ladies and Gentlemen this is the final siege. Team Semi-Slambulance is approaching with a- OH MY HOLY HELL LOOK AT THAT THING!" The students looked to the red team base at the monster they spawned. Rushing through the arena was a giant super bot standing several buildings above the sky. The bot glowing a dark red as it radiated an intense heat. "That is a level 15 super bot folks. This match might just be over!"

The fight was finished before it even started. Though they tried their best, Shelly and Max couldn't withstand the outstanding damage the super bot was outputting. That alongside the extra damage coming from Semi-Slambulance was far too powerful for them to stop. They weren't even able to keep the IKE alive to the end of the round.

When they saw the IKE turret explode into a million pieces they celebrated in the rubble of their defeated friends. Poco and Bibi were hopping up and down with joy while Leon just threw his hands in his pockets. Penny and Jessie had their focus locked on Leon as he looked up at the sky. They couldn't tell if he knew where they were, but he looked up at their box almost on instinct.

He put his index and middle finger up to his lips, blowing a kiss up to the students. Penny and Jessie lost their minds imagining him aiming the sign of affection their way, "How'd I do Nita?" The girls froze as he continued his sentence, "Your brother's pretty cool huh?"

Nita jumped up to the mic, "You're still lame to me." Leon laughed up at his little sister. Penny and Jessie calmed down from the misunderstanding.

The students continued to cheer for the amazing match as the competitors in the arena continued to bask in the bliss of their epic battle. Bibi and Poco were still celebrating like crazed children. Without a warning, Bibi lifted Poco by his black tux. The skeleton locking up as his pearly white teeth met her soft lips.

The spectators lost their minds as they cheered for the duo. Bea chimed in, "Atta girl! Took you long enough!" While the rest of the crowd went crazy, Penny, Jessie, and Nita just stared in awe.

Their bodies locked up mid celebration as they felt the clear bubble encompass them once again. The world blacking out for them as their consciousness' returned to their true bodies.

When they woke up, they were still locked in their chairs. "Well done students. That was an amazing match." Primo and the rest of the students applauded them, "Now let me just release those restraints."

He pressed a few buttons on the console, the sound of metal clanging sounding off as they were released from their seats. Bibi looked to Brock; he was staring at his legs with a nervous grimace. "Hey, no hard feelings, right?"

"You broke both my legs and proceeded to slowly gut me like a fish."

"Yeah but, it was funny."

"I'm not laughing."

Bibi would have tried to calm the waters between the two after the match, but she was more focused on her teammates. Poco had a nervous blush on his face as a group of girls whistled and catcalled the skeleton. Bibi, sensing competition, took his head from behind. Burying him deep in her chest. The smaller male looked up to her, "Your all mine now~" she said with an airy tone.

"Umm… El Primo," the students looked back to the metal seats. Leon was still sitting with his restraints on, "Little help?"

"That's strange, should have worked."

Leon sat patiently waiting for him to fix the mistake. He looked out into the crowd of students. Most talking to one another vacantly. Then he saw it. A pair of eyes watching him closely like a lioness stalking its prey.

'Oh god no, please.' He thought as he noticed her hungry gaze. Like a pink blur, she jumped the distance to him, flying through the sky as she jumped into his lap. The weight from her impact knocking the air out of his lungs.

She nuzzled her face against his cheek, "You did sooooo good out there." Penny circled her index finger around his chest.

"Help m-"

"Sshh~ I think we both know no one's gonna help you." She placed her finger against his lip as she pulled out her Plunderbuss. "They know better." Leon whimpered under her grip as he tried to think up a way out of this predicament. He didn't see a way out. "Now how should I reward you? Maybe you want a homemade meal when we get back to the dorms? Or would you like me to reserve the hot tub at the RAC?" She leaned in close her lips just centimeters away from his, "Or would you like… me~?"

Leon's restraints snapped loose without warning. Primo chimed in from the side, "Got it," unaware of what was happening behind him.

Leon slipped under Penny's legs hopping past Bibi and hiding in the rafters. Penny tried to find him in the dark ceiling, but his assassin lifestyle made him disappear with ease. "You get back here and get your reward!"

The students continued to laugh and joke as they congratulated all the competitors for their hard-fought battle. Meanwhile El Primo fixed the arena for the next match. Re-growing the grass and rebuilding all the walls again. When the arena was back in working conditions again Primo turned to his students with a simple question, "Okay kids… Who's next?"

* * *

"Pah~ Aye ye landlubbers might have a point with the whole, 'warm shower' thing."

"Like, I have so much to show you." Emz and Penny were sitting on their respective beds. The natural light from the sun leaking through the cracks of their blinds. Emz spent the entire day sitting in the dorms. Passing her time watching tv and drawing up designs in her notebook.

She also took the time to think about yesterday. The things she saw, what she should say. She decided that she should introduce the idea slowly. The only question, how? "Penny?" The pirate princess took a break from brushing her hair to acknowledge her, "How was class today?"

Penny took a deep breath, "Give me a second." She finished brushing her hair before switching into some comfortable clothes. A pink teeshirt with bright blue tights. Atop her head was the same pink bunny hat she wore to bed most nights. Penny silently sat down beside her roommate, then swiftly took Emz's arms in her grasp, her eyes sparkling as she talked, "It… was… amazing!"

Penny began gushing about all the events of their class. Recalling their match against 'The Painiacs' and how they narrowly lost to Bea and Carl's combined damage. She exaggerated the size of the siege bots from her excitement, but the general idea of the experience was not lost on Emz.

"We would have had it if Nita didn't rush in like a banshee."

"Yeah, that sounds like her." Emz took a second, choosing her next words wisely, "What about Leon?"

"Don't even get me started. He was like a thief in the night. He even blew me a kiss!"

Emz was flabbergasted, "Seriously?!"

"Well… he blew Nita a kiss, but it was in my direction so…" Penny told her about how Semi-Slambulance made their last-second come back, recalling Leon's oneliner alongside Poco's sudden outburst. Thinking about Poco made the images of their celebration come to life. She stopped her gushing before she made a fatal mistake.

When she looked back to Emz, her eyes were sparkling as she imagined the scene of Poco asserting his dominance. After a little trip to Lala land, she remembered her goal, "What about Jessie. What was she like today?"

"Jessie? Eh, normal I guess."

"Really. She didn't do anything… odd?" Penny rubbed her chin, running her hand through her hair as she got up from their seat. "Penn?" The pirate princess made her way for their door without a word. Emz (sensing the change in mood) decided to just say what was on her mind. "Jessie came with us to music class!"

Penny stood still with her hand against the knob.

"When we went into the room, she snuck in through the backdoor. At first, I didn't care but… the whole time… she was standing under Leon." Emz was scared to look at Penny, fearful of her rage. "I saw her-"

"You have a class soon, right?" Emz looked up at her roommate. Penny turned to her, her face not showing anger. Her voice soft and smooth. She seemed, content. "You should shower before you go." Penny opened the door, putting a foot in the hall. "Maybe try the cold water?"

As Penny made her way out the door, Emz started gathering her toiletries. Her body running on autopilot while her mind moved a million miles an hour. Did she do the right thing? Was telling Penny going to ruin their friendships? Did she ruin everything?

Her questions were halted when their door cracked open once again. Penny peeked her head inside, her eyes sunken as she softly spoke, "You might wanna keep your eyes on Bibi." Then as quick as she returned, she left again, leaving Emz staring at the door as she comprehended the warning.

Penny took her time walking down the hallway. Emz's words weren't a surprise to her. She had suspicions but she didn't know how to act on them. As she turned the corner she saw Jessie snapping pictures with her puppy-themed phone. Her mouth vacantly chewing on a white stick while she seemed to fawn over something within the room. The technician signaled for the pirate to join her, Penny walking in against her better judgment. When she entered, all her prior problems seemed to evaporate like the morning dew.

Sitting in the main recliner were Leon and Nita. The younger sibling curled in her brother's chest as they silently snoozed. The two girls watched as she lightly kicked the air like a dog in a dream. On instinct Leon wrapped his arms around her, seeming to soothe her disgruntled dreams.

Penny and Jessie lost all self-control at the adorable scene. The two working together to get the best angles for photos to share with their friends. After a minute of picture-snapping, Penny came up with a devious idea.

She ran back to her room, grabbing a pair of dry erase markers. When she returned, the duo began to graffiti Leon's face. Random pictures like skulls and hearts peppering his cheeks and forehead. Penny writing in big bold letters, "Leon Loves Penny", a skull with heart eyes on the end. Content with their work the two girls pulled out their phones to snap more pictures.

Until the sound of Leon groaning graced their ears. He started shifting in his seat, a wobbling frown appearing on his lips as he started to wake up. The two troublemakers rushed out of the room. Silently shutting the door as they watched from behind a wall.

The two watched Leon look around the room, scratching his face as he repositioned in his seat. He felt Nita moving in his arms, the younger girl seeming to push him back down in her sleep. All he did was chuckle as he drew his sister in deeper, the two embracing as they went back to sleep.

Penny and Jessie were swooning from outside as they observed the two's interaction. Penny glancing down at Jessie, the younger girl seeming just as enamored as her. "Hey, Jessie?" the younger girl didn't look away but acknowledged the call. "You've been getting pretty close to Leon recently huh?"

Penny looked down for a reaction, but her face was still facing Leon. She decided to continue, "Reminds me a lot of Emz. Ya'know. The way she was when she first started crushing on Poco." She paused letting that statement sit in the air, "You haven't felt something similar?"

Jessie finally looked away from Leon. Her back still facing Penny. She waited for a response, but the younger girl remained silent. "Aye. On the ship, whenever Darryl feels like someone is threatening to take over, he throws them off before they have a chance to form a plan." She slowly reached for her Plunderbuss, "You wouldn't be planning a mutiny, would you?"

Jessie stood tall with her back turned to Penny. Her red and yellow cap sitting low on her head. She slowly turned around to face the older girl, her eyes hidden beneath the brim. When she looked up, she had that same sickly smile she always put on. Penny once saw that face as a sign of friendship. But now, she couldn't get a read on her.

"Penny… How many times do I have to say this…" she took off her hat, untying her pigtails as she let her long red hair flow freely. The hair going down to the small of her back as she smiled up at her. "A mind too bright to be distracted by boys." Jessie looked back to Leon checking to see if he was asleep.

She walked past the commons room towards the hall her room sat on. Before she left she turned back to a frustrated Penny, "Though if I were you. I would hurry up, he's not gonna be single forever." She winked to Penny as she made her way down the hall.

Penny stood behind the wall looking where she disappeared. Her knuckles whitening under the grip she had on her gun, "Then it be a mutiny."

Within the commons room, Leon started shifting again. His hand lightly touching his lips as if looking for something. He didn't give it much thought, he just wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet of resting with his sister.

Down the main hallway, Jessie swiped through her pictures with Leon. Her mouth chewing on the white stick absently as she walked to her room. Among the many pictures of Leon and Nita, she had a few with Penny and her taking a selfie with the sleeping siblings. But before all those, there was one picture hidden in her gallery.

An image of Leon (without the scribbles on his face) sleeping soundly as Jessie stole a kiss from his lips. She snickered softly at the victory she stole from Penny. Her free hand pulling the stick out her mouth. And revealing the cherry red lollipop that was attached to the end.

She remembered the words Penny left her with, 'Darryl throwing people off the ship before they can form a plan? That's why he's the captain… and you're just some imaginary princess.' She sighed happily as she closed her door. Falling into her sheets as her mind imagined a future with Leon.

One thought escaped her lips as she curled up in her covers, "This is going to be a fun year."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm done. This is it. We are finished. Ranto Academy is over...
> 
> Which I think is good. Finishing the story here is good. It leaves a lot up to your imagination. I think for a story like this... an idea like this... it's better for the readers to let their imagination run wild. So before you stop reading let me say a few things.
> 
> Thanks for reading. I know everyone says this but seriously, thank you. Seeing those views rise keeps me writing every day.
> 
> If you enjoyed reading, why not give me a kudo. And if you want to leave a review, go for it! Honestly, I am always looking forward to reviews and I may just respond to your review in my next story. However, if you have a negative review you want to leave... give me everything you got. I would love to give a story like this another try. Hearing some critiques of what I did wrong and could have done better will only make my writing grow. So let me have it! Drop some brutal honesty. Since I haven't gotten a single review on any of my stories, I'm honestly heartbroken. I would really love to hear what the people reading my stories think. Even guests reviews are welcome. But I can't force you to do something you aren't comfortable with, so at least keep on reading.
> 
> Last (But most certainly not least) my good friend Queenbookerly. First off, give her story "Hey now, you're a brawl star (working title)" a solid read! It's a more serious take on the characters within Brawl Stars and honestly, I love it. If you love a serious story and fun intriguing deep characters give it a read! More important than that, thanks for all the love and support. Kinda wish I got some more negative/critical reviews but at least I know I have multiple constant readers. Now seriously go give her story a read.
> 
> Finally, since you just finished Ranto, why not give my other stories a read. At the time of finishing this story I have written an unfinished story, "A Fighter's Story", and (big reveal) have begun working on my latest creation, "We're Keeping Her!" (Keep your eyes out for that later)
> 
> Thanks for reading another one of...
> 
> Sammy's Silly Scripts

**Author's Note:**

> I am a brand new author that is as green and new as a rookie writer can be. However I love criticism, I thrive off it, seeing someone rip my work apart is like the ultimate sign of respect cause you took the time to analyze my story for everything it was worth and fix my stupid mistakes. Having said that please critique me if need be. And if you enjoyed what you read, tell me what you liked? I use these reviews so that I can structure future writings to exceed expectations.
> 
> Now with that off my chest, this story won't be very long. I'm expecting it to take 4 chapters to tell but with how I get once I start writing this could easily evolve into an 8 - 10 chapter story. However, if you enjoyed this work and want to see more of my writings at the time of this story being posted I only have written Brawl Stars stories. The other story I wrote is titled A Fighter's Story and is my first dive into fanfiction. At the time of posting this chapter the story is 11 chapters long reaching 80,000+ words and I plan on continuing to write for the story. I hope you give it a try and please rip me apart on there if you think I deserve it.
> 
> I look forward to your continued support of Sammy and his Silly Scripts.


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